Two titles will be on the line Oct. 23, as former middleweight champion Brandon Halsey will vie for Bellator’s vacant 185-pound strap against streaking Brazilian Rafael Carvalho in Bellator 144’s co-headlining bout.
Bellator officials announced the match-up on Monday. Eduardo Dantas looks to recapture his bantamweight title against Marcos Galvao in the night’s main event.
The undefeated Halsey (9-0) was stripped of his Bellator middleweight title after missing weight by over three pounds in his most recent bout, which he won via fourth-round TKO against Kendall Grove. Halsey ultimately attributed his weigh-in failure to an injury suffered during training camp.
The 28-year-old American is a perfect 7-0 in his seven appearances inside the Bellator cage. After debuting as a light heavyweight, he defeated Joe Pacheco and Brett Cooper in back-to-back fights to win season 10’s middleweight tournament. The run earned Halsey an opportunity to challenge Alexander Shlemenko for Bellator’s middleweight championship, and Halsey needed just 35 seconds to choke the Russian unconscious and claim the belt.
He’ll now look to reclaim his title against Carvalho (11-1), a 29-year-old native of Rio de Janeiro who captured a surprising split decision over kickboxing champion Joe Schilling last April. Carvalho rides an 11-fight win streak into the contest, including a first-round TKO over Brian Rogers in his Bellator debut.
Bellator 144 takes place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
Welterweight contenders Brennan Ward (11-3) and Michael Page (8-0) are also expected to appear on the Spike TV main card.
An updated Bellator 144 fight card can be seen below.
- Marcos Galvao vs. Eduardo Dantas
- Brandon Halsey vs. Rafael Carvalho
- Michael Page vs. TBA
- Brennan Ward vs. TBA