RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Rafael Carvalho saw in Lyoto Machida the perfect opportunity to bounce back into the title picture after losing the Bellator middleweight gold to Gegard Mousasi, and he will have that chance in Hawaii.
Set to welcome “The Dragon” to the circular cage in the co-main event of Bellator 213 on Dec. 15, Carvalho admits he was surprised that he was actually given the match since he was in talks with the promotion about facing Alexander Shlemenko, but facing Machida “will be a bigger comeback for me.