After beating 170-pound champion Rory MacDonald to retain Bellator’s middleweight title, Gegard Mousasi said that, as far as he’s concerned, Rafael Lovato Jr. is next in line for the belt.

Mousasi’s already thinking of steps to take after that, though, and made it perfectly clear in his post-fight speech at this Saturday.

“I think (Lovato Jr.) deserves it, I want to fight him,” Mousasi said after Bellator 206’s headliner. “In December, (Lyoto Machida) fights. April, I will be ready for him if he wins.”

There is, we know, some history there. Mousasi and Machida have met before, in February 2014, while competing under the UFC banner. Mousasi lost that UFC Fight Night 36 bout via unanimous decision and, since Machida’s signing by Bellator was announced, has been very upfront about wanting a rematch.

There’s an added element to those comments, though. Mousasi has accused Machida of using performance-enhancing drugs in the past and, in the cage on Saturday, made sure that there would need to be “a lot of drug testing of Machida” for the bout to happen.

Machida (24-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who’s set to meet Rafael Carvalho (15-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) at Bellator 211, was handling commentary duties for the Brazilian broadcast of Bellator 206. And while he didn’t address that particular drug-testing related jab, “The Dragon” did respond to Mousasi’s (45-6-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) challenge.

“Let’s do this second fight, then,“ Machida said during the Fox Sports Brazil broadcast. “I think Mousasi still (has that loss stuck in his throat) – every interview, he says he’s upset, that he wants to fight me. So it will be more than a pleasure for me, because my goal really is the Bellator belt. I didn’t come here to play. I didn’t come here to just do small fights. I came here to be champion, and that’s what I’m going to do.

“I have a very serious commitment in December – that fight first. And then I can think about what will happen in the future. Rafael Carvalho is a guy who deserves a lot of respect and a lot of seriousness in training. So let’s do this fight first. But for sure, you’re next, Mousasi. You can get prepared and come in strong. Because if you don’t, I’m going to run you over.”

Machida meets Carvalho on Dec. 15, in a DAZN-streamed bout at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. This will mark the karate specialist’s Bellator debut, after an 11-year UFC stint that he ended on a two-fight winning streak. His most recent display was a highlight-reel knockout of Vitor Belfort, at UFC 224 in May.

For more on Bellator in Hawaii, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.