Rafael Carvalho-Melvin Manhoef Middleweight Title Rematch Tops Bellator 168 Card

A middleweight championship rematch between Rafael Carvalho and Melvin Manhoef will serve as the main event for the mixed martial arts portion of Bellator 168.

Promotion officials announced the bout on Friday. Bellator 167 takes place at the Mandela Forum in Florence, Italy, on Dec. 10 and will feature both MMA and kickboxing bouts. It was also announced that Giorgio Petrosyan will oppose Jordan Watson at lightweight on the kickboxing portion of the card. Broadcast plans for the event will be revealed soon.

Carvalho edged Manhoef in a contentious split decision in their initial meeting at Bellator 155. The Brazilian has won 13 straight fights since dropping his professional debut, including four victories under the Bellator banner. Ten of his triumphs have come by way of knockout or technical knockout.

Manhoef is 2-2 with one no contest since joining the California-based promotion. His Bellator tenure includes spectacular knockout victories over Doug Marshall and Hisaki Kato. “No Mercy” is 30-13-1 with two no contests over the course of a career that began in 1995.

Editor's note: The original headline referred to the event as Bellator 167. However, the Florence, Italy, card is actually Bellator 168, as the promotion has one unannounced event that will occurr prior the Dec. 10 card.