Carvalho announces title defense vs. Sakara in Italy, wants Mousasi next

Rafael Carvalho's next title defense is set, but it won't be against Gegard Mousasi.

The Brazilian told MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz on Tuesday he's signed on to defend his Bellator middleweight crown against Alessio Sakara on Dec. 9 in Florence, Italy.

Carvalho's revelation came a day after Mousasi announced he'd defected to Bellator from the UFC, and while the champ would gladly share the cage with the promotion's latest import, he didn't deem Mousasi worthy of a shot at his gold - at least not yet.

"I don’t think it’s right to have Mousasi fighting for the title right away," Carvalho said. "He should fight once or twice to prove he deserves this chance. It would be disrespectful to other fights who are competing for their opportunities in the division. It would be unfair. If Bellator did that, it would be the same thing the UFC does to other fighters, and that's not nice."

The 30-year-old Carvalho has twice defended the belt against Melvin Manhoef, first by split decision in May 2016, then by head-kick KO in April. If he retains the strap against Sakara, he'll aim to take on Mousasi next in early 2018.

Sakara, 35, has dispatched light heavyweights Joey Beltran and Brian Rogers by knockout in his brief Bellator stint, both in his native Italy. "Legionarius" returns to his home country for his first world title bout with a 19-11 record, including 13 wins by knockout.