For the second time in one year, Bellator MMA will match a pair of active champions against one another when featherweight titleholder Patricio "Pitbull" Freire moves up to 155 pounds to challenge lightweight champion Michael Chandler on May 11. 

ESPN's Ariel Helwani reported the news on Thursday regarding the Bellator 221 main event, which will take place at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. A formal announcement is expected to come from Bellator later this week. 

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After current welterweight champion Rory MacDonald failed in his attempt to become Bellator's first simultaneous two-division champion last September when he was dominated by middleweight titleholder Gegard Mousasi, Ryan Bader successfully achieved the feat by stopping Fedor Emelianenko in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix.

Freire (28-4) will get a shot to match Bader's mark and make history. The fight also represents the consummation of a grudge match between Freire and Chandler that goes back three years. 

Chandler (19-4), a three-time lightweight champion, began his second reign in 2016 when he recorded a brutal one-punch knockout of Freire's twin brother Patricky in their vacant title bout. After the fight, Freire leaped into Chandler's face to defend his brother's honor and called him out for excessive celebration. The two argued over social media but never secured a fight until now. 

The 32-year-old Chandler lost his title when he was forced to retire with a leg injury in Round 1 against Brent Primus in 2017 but came back three fights later to win a decision from Primus in December and regain his title. 

A native of Brazil, the 31-year-old Freire is in the midst of his second reign as featherweight champion and submitted Daniel Straus in their fourth meeting to capture the title in 2017. 

Helwani reported that the card will also feature the return of former WWE superstar Jake "Jack Swagger" Hager, fresh off his debut victory as a heavyweight. In addition, former champion Douglas Lima will face the winner of Saturday's Michael Page-Paul Daley bout in a semifinals of the Welterweight World Grand Prix. Unbeaten AJ McKee will also face former featherweight champion Pat Curran.