Former Bellator champion Juan Archuleta to fight Naoki Inoue at Rizin 42

Juan Archuleta’s fighting career continues in Japan.

The former Bellator champion has booked another fight in the “Land of the Rising Sun” as he’s set to return against Naoki Inoue on May 6 at Rizin 42. The event will go down at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. The bout between Archuleta and Inoue is to be contested at 135 pounds.

The matchup was announced by Bellator on Sunday evening.

This booking for Archuleta (27-4) comes on the heels of his debut in Japan this past December, as he fought in Rizin’s New Year’s Eve event – Rizin FF 40.  It was a card that pit Bellator fighters vs. Rizin fighters.

In that event, Archuleta defeated Soo Chul Kim by split decision. The 35-year-old is now on a two-fight winning streak since losing to Raufeon Stots by knockout in April.

Inoue (18-3), who had a two-fight stint in the UFC in 2017-2018, is 7-1 in his past eight fights. His lone loss during that stretch came in the semifinals of the 2021 Rizin FF bantamweight grand prix. He lost to Hiromasa Ougikubo by unanimos decision.