Bellator MMA will hit the Big Apple June 24th, with Bellator 180 in Madison Square Garden. The first two fight that will co-headline this, which will be Bellator’s 2nd endever into Pay Per View.
In what is a grudge match Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1) will face Chael Sonnen (28-15-1) who he brawled with on the set of TUF Brazil 3. Silva coming off a suspension for running away from a drug test. Silva last fought in May of 2013 scoring a 3nd round knock out of Brian Stann in a back an forth sluggfest. Sonnen returned to the cage in January, from a drug test failure suspension, losing his Bellator debut, being submitted by Tito Ortiz, in the first round of there Bellator 170 main event.
Also announced is the rescheduling Fedor Emelianko (36-4) vs. Matt Mitrione (11-5), which was to headline Bellator 172, before Mitrione withdrew on fight day due to kidney stones. Emelianenko will fight on American soil for the first time since being knocked out by Dan Henderson in July of 2011. Fighting back in Russia 4 times and once in Japan, Emelianenko won 3 of the 5 by knock out and one very controversial decision. Mitrione, who signed with Bellator as a free agent from the UFC, has 10 of his 11 wins by knock out and is 2-0 in Bellator.
