TEMECULA, Calif. – Former Bellator MMA middleweight champ Brandon Halsey (9-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) will fight for the title he recently lost on the scale when he meets Rafael Carvalho (11-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) at Bellator 144.

Bellator President Scott Coker announced the new contest on the newest edition of “The MMA Road Show with John Morgan.”

The matchup, the second title fight to be scheduled for the card, will serve as the co-main event of the evening.

Featuring a headlining rematch between Bellator bantamweight champion Marcos Galvao and former champ Eduardo Dantas, Bellator 144 takes place Oct. 23 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

The undefeated Halsey has looked fantastic in seven Bellator MMA wins to date, including a 35-second drubbing of then-middleweight champ Alexander Shlemenko in Septemebr 2014 to claim the title. However, Halsey carried an injury into his May 2015 title defense against Kendall Grove and was unable to make weight for the Bellator 137 headliner and was stripped of his belt.

Coker said that any hard feelings between the fighter and the promotion have been resolved, and Halsey signed a new deal ahead of this title fight.

Meanwhile, Carvalho is a 29-year-old Brazilian contender who suffered a loss in his 2011 professional debut but has since rattled off 11 consecutive wins, including nine by knockout.

Carvalho has earned Bellator wins over Joe Schilling and Brian Rogers en route to earning a shot at the belt.

With the addition to the card, Bellator 144 now includes:

Champ Marcos Galvao vs. Eduardo Dantas – for bantamweight title Brandon Halsey vs. Rafael Carvalho – for vacant middleweight title Michael Page vs. opponent TBA Brennan Ward vs. opponent TBA

For more on Bellator 144, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.