A rematch between Bellator's and Rizin's best will play out in June at Madison Square Garden.
Darrion Caldwell vs. Kyoji Horiguchi has officially been booked for Bellator 222 on June 14 in New York City, Bellator president Scott Coker told ESPN.
The rematch will be for Caldwell's Bellator bantamweight title.
The pair first fought on New Year's Eve at Rizin 14 in Japan for the inaugural Rizin bantamweight title. Horiguchi submitted Caldwell via guillotine choke in the third round. Immediately afterward, talk began about rematching the two champions stateside. Per Coker, if Horiguchi wins the Bellator title in June, he will be contractually obligated to defend the title once a year. However, if he loses to Caldwell, he won't have to fight in Bellator again.
A former UFC flyweight title contender, Horiguchi (27-2) has won 12 fights in a row, including nine in a row since leaving the UFC in 2016. He defeated Ben Nguyen via TKO last week at Rizin 15.
Caldwell (13-2) hasn't fought since the Dec. 31 loss to Horiguchi, which snapped his four-fight winning streak.
Bellator and Rizin are the rare two promotions that share talent due to Coker's and Rizin president Nobuyuki Sakakibara's long-standing working relationship.
The event will be headlined by Chael Sonnen vs. Lyoto Machida.
