Douglas Lima

By Kelsey Mowatt

Douglas Lima will return to the cage on June 17th when he takes on Chidi Njokuani at Bellator 156, and according his brother, the former champ’s eager to fight after two years of “hell”.

Lima hasn’t fought now since last July, when he lost the welterweight title to Andrey Koreshkov via unanimous decision. The defeat was the heavy handed fighter’s first since 2012, and ended a five fight winning streak.

Recently Lima’s younger brother Dhiego, appeared on Full Contact Fighter Radio, following his victory at Legacy FC 53. While discussing the upcoming return of his brother, Lima stated:

“That’s going to be a barnburner man,” said Lima, “You’ve got two strikers that love to stand. Man, Douglas is healthy and Douglas is hungry. The past two years have been hell for him. Just to see him training and 100% again, it puts a smile on our faces already.”

The former champ fought three times in 2013, and scored three consecutive stoppage victories. But due to injuries, Lima has fought only twice since that year concluded. Prior to facing Koreshkov last summer the ATT fighter stopped Rick Hawn. That bout took place in April, 2014.

“Somebody’s going to go down and I guarantee you it’s not going to be my brother,” Dhiego added. “He’s going to be ready. Whatever it is, wherever the fight goes, he’s going to be ready. Chidi is a very experienced striker and his takedown defense has gotten a lot better, so it’s going to be a great fight…”

Bellator 156 will be hosted by the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.