Michael Chandler Will Battle Patricky Pitbull for Vacant Bellator Lightweight Title

Following the release of former lightweight champion Will Brooks, Bellator officials quickly followed up with an announcement to fill the vacancy.

Former champion Michael Chandler (14-3) will battle Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (16-7) for the championship left vacant when Bellator cut Brooks loose. Bellator officials announced the news on Saturday, just a few hours after company president Scott Coker told MMAWeekly.com that they had released their lightweight champion.

RELATED > Bellator Cuts Lightweight Champ Will Brooks, Strips Heavyweight Champion Vitaly Minakov

Brooks' contract was set to end in July, and the disgruntled champion reportedly was not interest in renewing his deal with Bellator. Rather that keep him tied up during an extensive matching period, Bellator opted to release him, making Brooks an unrestricted free agent.

Chandler and Pitbull will battle in the Bellator: Dynamite 2 co-main event at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on June 24 to determine which of them will fill Brooks' shoes.

The title fight joins a main event that features a 215-pound catchweight match-up between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (36-11) and Satoshi Ishii (14-5-1), as well as a heavyweight showdown pitting Matt Mitrione (9-5) against Carl “Badwater” Seumanutafa (10-6). Much like the first iteration of the “Dynamite” series, both a mixed martial arts cage and kickboxing ring will be featured on the arena floor.

Updated “Bellator: Dynamite 2” Fight Card:

• Bellator MMA Heavyweight Main Event: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (36-11) vs. Satoshi Ishii (14-5-1)

• Bellator MMA Lightweight World Title Bout: Michael Chandler (14-3) vs. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (16-7)

• Bellator MMA Heavyweight Feature Bout: Matt Mitrione (9-5) vs. Carl Seumanutafa (10-6)

Preliminary Card:

• Bellator MMA Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Kevin Engel (5-0) vs. Chel Erwin-Davis (3-1)

• Bellator MMA Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: Jordan Howard (9-3) vs Justin Robbins (14-17-1)

• Bellator MMA Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Joaquin Buckley (5-0) vs Chris Heatherly (9-3-1)

• Bellator MMA 130-pound Preliminary Bout: Michelle Royer (1-0) vs Katy Collins (3-1)

• Bellator MMA 180-pound Preliminary Bout: Brad Jones (5-4) vs Tyler Claussen (2-0)

• Bellator MMA Middleweight Preliminary Bout: Jason Christeson (1-0) vs Jarrod Thomas (0-0)

• Bellator MMA Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Lee Burns (2-0) vs. Byron Stevens (0-0)

• Bellator MMA Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Steven Mann (11-4) vs. Mike Estus (7-4)

• Bellator MMA Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Rashard Lovelace (3-0) vs. Garret Mueller (2-1)

• Bellator MMA Strawweight Preliminary Bout: Nikki Smith (1-0) vs. Ashley Cummins (3-3)

• Bellator Kickboxing Preliminary Bout: Elmir Kulosman (3-0) vs. Darryl Cobb (2-1)

• Bellator Kickboxing Preliminary Bout: Tara Walker (4-3-1) vs. Mimi Kutzin (3-2)

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