Big UFC Debut Official, BJ Penn's Brother Accused Of Assault, Bellator Champion To Fight For Rizin

By Dana Becker

- Bellator and Rizin officials confirmed that bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell will compete at the year-ending Rizin 14 event in Japan against Kyoji Horiguchi for the Rizin 135-pound title. The event takes place December 31 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Caldwell is 13-1 overall and has won four in a row, including a title-winning victory over Eduardo Dantas in 2017. He recently knocked out Noad Lahat to defend his belt.

Horiguchi, a former UFC flyweight title challenger, won the Rizin 2017 bantamweight grand prix. He is 25-2 overall in his career, including a 7-0 record for Rizin.

The event is also expected to feature an "exhibition" between Floyd Mayweather and Tenshin Nasukawa. Horiguchi lost a kickboxing match to Nasukawa earlier this year.

- Reagan Penn, the brother of former UFC champion BJ Penn, is accused of allegedly assaulting three people in Brazil recently. According to a report by MMA Fighting, Penn was in Rio de Janeiro to help his brother at the Nova Uniao gym prepare for his bout.

The Rio de Janeiro military police posted a message on Twitter stating that an "American identified as an MMA fighter because he assaulted some people in a building located on Botagofo Beach. The stranger was very aggressive. The Fire Department was called and referred to Leblon's CER hospital."

BJ Penn is scheduled to meet Ryan Hall at UFC 232 next month.

- Ben Askren's Octagon debut is now official, as the promotion sent out a message via Twitter for his bout with Robbie Lawler. Askren, an unbeaten former Bellator and ONE champion, will meet ex-UFC titleholder Lawler at UFC 233 on January 26 from Anaheim, California.

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