Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione have been rebooked for a heavyweight tilt in New York City.
Emelianenko was originally set to make his Bellator debut against Mitrione inside the SAP Center in San Jose, California. They were going to serve as the main event of Bellator 172 last month.
It wasn’t meant to be as Mitrione was pulled from the bout due to kidney stones. Despite rumors floating around that Bellator was moving away from Mitrione as “The Last Emperor’s” next opponent, the NY Post has confirmed the bout is back on.
Emelianenko vs. Mitrione will take place inside Madison Square Garden on June 24. The bout will serve as the co-main event of Bellator 180. In the main event, Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva will finally engage in a grudge match that has been anticipated since the two were fighting under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) banner.
In his last bout, Emelianenko fought Fabio Maldonado and took a controversial majority decision victory. Maldonado had “The Last Emperor” hurt and appeared on the verge of earning a TKO win. Emelianenko extended his winning streak to five.
As for Mitrione, he stopped Oli Thompson in the second round of their scrap back in July 2016. In the fight prior, Mitrione made his Bellator debut a successful one against Carl Seumanutafa.
