It did not take long for the contenders to start nipping at Juan Archuleta’s heels.

“The Spaniard” will defend his undisputed Bellator MMA bantamweight championship against Sergio Pettis in the Bellator 258 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Archuleta, has rattled off 20 wins across his past 21 appearances. He last competed at Bellator 246, where he laid claim to the vacant 135-pound championship with a five-round unanimous decision over Patrick Mix on Sept. 12. Pettis, meanwhile, enters the cage on the strength of a three-fight winning streak. The Roufusport standout has not fought since he took a unanimous decision from Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 242 in July.

Bellator 258 “Archuleta vs. Pettis”—which airs live on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT—also features a light heavyweight grand prix quarterfinal matching Anthony Johnson with Jose Augusto Azevedo Barros, a lightweight affair pitting Patricky Freire against Peter Queally and a catchweight clash pairing Michael Page with Derek Anderson at 175 pounds. Bellator’s YouTube channel will carry the undercard in its entirety at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT, a bantamweight scrap between Raufeon Stots and Josh Hill anchoring the eight-fight slate of prelims.

A closer look at the Bellator 258 particulars:

THE LINEUP

135: Juan Archuleta vs. Sergio Pettis
205: Anthony Johnson vs. Jose Augusto Azevedo Barros
155: Patricky Freire vs. Peter Queally
175: Michael Page vs. Derek Anderson
135: Raufeon Stots vs. Josh Hill
185: Lorenz Larkin vs. Rafael Carvalho
135: Patrick Mix vs. Albert Morales
170: Logan Storley vs. Omar Hussein Abufarah
185: Johnny Eblen vs. Daniel Madrid
135: Henry Corrales vs. Johnny Campbell
145: Weber Almeida vs. Johnny Soto
135: Erik Perez vs. Blaine Shutt

THE RUNDOWN

• Weigh-in Report
• By The Numbers: Archuleta vs. Pettis
• Rivalries: Anthony Johnson
• Bellator 258: Virtual Media Day

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• Matches to Make After Bellator 257