Michael Chandler to Face Goiti Yamauchi at Bellator 192 in Los Angeles

Michael Chandler won’t be getting an instant rematch against Brent Primus for the Bellator MMA lightweight title in his next bout.

Instead, Chandler will square off against Goiti Yamauchi at Bellator 192 in Los Angeles on Jan. 20. Chandler announced the 155-pound pairing via Instagram on Friday. MMAFighting.com was first to report the booking.

Bellator 192 takes place at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and is headlined by a welterweight championship tilt between Douglas Lima and Rory MacDonald. The evening’s main card will air on the Paramount Network.

Chandler lost the 155-pound belt in bizarre fashion when he suffered a foot injury early in his Bellator: NYC matchup with Brent Primus and the bout was halted 2:22 into the first round. That defeat halted a four-bout winning streak for the Missouri native, who had bested Benson Henderson, Patricky Freire, David Rickels and Derek Campos in succession.

Yamauchi recently signed a long-term contract extension with Bellator. The 24-year-old lightweight has been victorious in eight of his 10 promotional appearances and is coming off a first-round submission victory over Adam Piccolotti at Bellator 183 on Sept. 23.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT: I’ll be fighting Goiti Yamauchi January 20th at #Bellator192 in #LosAngeles at @theforum - time to go out there and lay it on the line. Let’s go! @dymatize @monsterenergy @americanethanol @morethanafuel @toyotaescondido @pure_and_clean_sports @pullincalifornia @dynamaxusa _ #mma #wrestling #boxing #kickboxing #bjj #jiujitsu #hardwork #motivation #workout #workoutmotivation #fitness #fitnessmotivation #ironmichael

A post shared by Michael Chandler (@mikechandlermma) on Nov 17, 2017 at 2:03pm PST