Wanderlei Silva couldn’t have asked for more going into his 50th professional mixed martial arts (MMA) bout.
Bellator 180 takes place inside Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 24. The card will be headlined by a grudge match between Silva and Chael Sonnen. The event’s main card will be airing live on pay-per-view.
Silva vs. Sonnen is a rivalry renewed. “The Axe Murderer” and Sonnen were opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Brazil season three. The fight fell apart when Silva failed to submit an application to compete in the state of Nevada.
With past issues behind him, Silva is finally ready to take on his adversary. In a Facebook post (via Bloody Elbow), Silva said he’s happy to throw leather with Sonnen:
“It’s a pleasure to tell you guys that my fight against Chael Sonnen at Bellator 180 is a done deal. It’s an old rivalry that will finally be settled. I have 49 fights and I really wanted to have my fight number 50. Even more than that, it had to be against him. I was supposed to face (Mirko) Cro Cop (at) the end of 2016, but I wasn’t able to heal. But I really wanted to have my 50th fight against Sonnen and it will be. And I’ll beat him up.”
