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Njokuani moves up in weight to fight Kato at Bellator 189

Bellator MMA

Chidi Njokuani will face Hisaki Kato in his middleweight debut Dec. 1 at Bellator 189 in Thackerville, Okla., the promotion announced Tuesday.

The kickboxing specialist aims to put his weight management struggles behind him in his newly adopted division after missing the welterweight limit in two of his last three bouts. The 28-year-old came in four pounds overweight for his most recent outing at Bellator 182, where he was finished by former champion Andrey Koreshkov in the first round. The defeat snapped an eight-fight winning streak spanning four years.

Kato has won three straight and all but one of his five fights inside the Bellator cage. The 35-year-old was last seen outpointing Ralek Gracie this past January at Bellator 170. Seven of his eight professional victories have come by way of knockout.

Bellator 189 will be headlined by a women's featherweight title bout between reigning queen Julia Budd and Arlene Blencowe.

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