Bellator has announced its main and co-main event for Bellator 227 as they prepare for their return to The Forum in Inglewood, California on September 28th.

With the promotion confirming the news on Thursday, two-weight champion Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire will defend his featherweight title against top contender Juan Archuleta while Gegard Mousasi will take on Lyoto Machida for the second time, his first fight since losing the Bellator middleweight championship.

Freire (29-4) added the lightweight title to his collection in his last fight with a first-round KO win over long-time rival Michael Chandler at Bellator 221. Freire became the latest dual-champion with his win over Chandler having been the featherweight champion since 2017.

Archuleta (23-1) will enter Bellator 227 on the back of an 18-fight winning streak. Archuleta has gone 5-0 since joining Bellator in 2018 and most recently scored his 11th career KO win over former bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas at Bellator 222. 

In the September event’s other announced bout, Mousasi (45-7-2) will fight for the first time since losing his 185 lbs championship to Rafael Lovato Jr. at Bellator 223. Mousasi saw his middleweight title end come to an end via majority decision last month, ending a three-year unbeaten run in the process.

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His opponent, Lyoto Machida (26-8), meanwhile is currently on a four-fight winning streak. Machida most recently defeated Chael Sonnen in a light heavyweight bout at Bellator 222 but will move back down in weight class to fight Mousasi for the second time in his career. Machida emerged victorious via unanimous decision in their first bout in 2014 but was accused by Mousasi of ‘greasing’ in the aftermath.