Bellator 180: “Sonnen vs. Silva” sees the promotion follow in the footsteps of the UFC by staging their first event ever at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y.
The 180th show in the promotion’s history is scheduled for June 24, 2017. The main event of the evening is a pay-per-view (PPV) bout between old foes Chael “The American Gangster” Sonnen and Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva. Both men famously went head-to-head as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 where a scuffle broke out between the two men, which, according to Dana White led to their UFC 175 fight being scrapped.
The official artwork for the event is hardly groundbreaking or innovative and shows clear signs of age littering the faces of all men. Matt Mitrione is the baby of the group at 38 years of age, with Fedor and Wanderlei both 40 and Sonnen due to hit “the big 4-0” on April 3.
Bellator 180 poster! pic.twitter.com/NaOKGsjoQJ
— Steve Juon (@angrymarks) March 23, 2017
Bellator is steadily becoming synonymous with marquee fights involving legends of the sport. The promotion has attracted criticism for hyping fights between competitors considered long past their respective primes; Tito Ortiz vs. Chael Sonnen was considered a major disappointment, for example. Nevertheless, the decision to sell the nostalgia fest as a PPV event may seem optimistic on the part of Coker and co, but time will tell if the numbers match the ambition.
Bellator 180 is set for June 24, 2017, at Madison Square Garden, New York.
