Bellator 180: “Sonnen vs. Silva” takes place TONIGHT (Sat. June 24, 2017) from inside Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., featuring an historic and long-awaited showdown between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva airing LIVE on pay-per-view (PPV).
That big fight rubs shoulder-to-shoulder with a star studded line-up, including a co-main event originally set for earlier this year between Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione. Douglas Lima defends his Welterweight title against former UFC star Lorenz Larkin, Michael Chandler defends his Lightweight belt versus Brent Primus, and there’s even a Phil Davis title fight on free television before the main card.
It’s a historic show for Bellator MMA in its MSG debut stacked from top to bottom.
Bellator 180 will start at 10 p.m. ET on PPV. MMAmania.com will be here to deliver results and play-by-play for the entirety of the Bellator MMA broadcast card, including “Prelims” undercard bouts that start at 6 p.m. ET.
Many readers check in before, during and after the fights to share their thoughts on all of the action. Feel free to leave a comment (or 180) about the bouts and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show — it’s always a lot of fun!
BELLATOR 180 QUICK RESULTS:
Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva —
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Mitrione —
Douglas Lima vs. Lorenz Larkin —
Michael Chandler vs. Brent Primus —
Aaron Pico vs. Zach Freeman —
Phil Davis vs. Ryan Bader —
James Gallagher vs. Chinzo Machida —
Neiman Gracie vs. Dave Marfone —
Heather Hardy vs. Alice Yauger —
Ryan Couture vs. Haim Gozali — in progress.
Jerome Mickle vs. Anthony Giacchina — Giacchina via sub (RNC) 3:40 R3.
John Salgado vs. Hugh McKenna — McKenna via sub (kimura) 4:06 R1.
Matt Rizzo vs. Sergio da Silva — Rizzo via sub (arm triangle) 3:48 R3.
Nate Grebb vs. Bradley Desir — Desir via knockout 2:54 R1.
BELLATOR 180 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Mitrione
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
Douglas Lima vs. Lorenz Larkin
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
Final result:
Michael Chandler vs. Brent Primus
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
Final result:
Aaron Pico vs. Zach Freeman
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
Phil Davis vs. Ryan Bader
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
Final result:
James Gallagher vs. Chinzo Machida
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
Neiman Gracie vs. Dave Marfone
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
Heather Hardy vs. Alice Yauger
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
Ryan Couture vs. Haim Gozali
Blue trunks and gloves for Gozali, 7-3, fighting out of Bat Yam, Israel. Black trunks and red gloves for Couture, 10-5, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada. Our referee in charge is Dan Miragliotta.
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
Jerome Mickle vs. Anthony Giacchina
Mickle is 2-1 in the red trunks and blue gloves out of Bronx, New York. Giacchina is 1-1 in the red gloves and dark navy trunks out of Seldon, New York. Our referee is Rob Hinds.
Round 1: Both men tap gloves and we get underway with Giacchina getting a takedown to side control 13 seconds in. Mickle gets up immediately and Giacchina drops levels trying to get him back down again. Mickle throws a few punches to the back of Giacchina’s head and then lets a right hook go as Giacchina finally abandons the takedown. Mickle lands a leg kick and Giacchina responds in kind. Mickle is keeping his back to the fence as Giacchina keeps hunting for openings, but he has to duck a big right hand as Mickle forces him back to the center. Mickle hurts him with a right but Giacchina hurts him with a shot over the top in return. Mickle tags him with another and Giacchina puts him against the fence to clear his head. Mickle breaks free at 3:30. Mickle is getting a little wild with his right hand knowing he’s connected with power, and Giacchina bulls him into the fence. Mickle backs him off with 40 seconds left in R1. Giacchina with a body kick. Mickle tags Giacchina twice but Giacchina gets a takedown to side control right as R1 ends. Mickle gets the 10-9 by virtue of coming closer to a finish with his shots.
Round 2: Mickle rocks Giacchina with a right hand 15 seconds into R2 and lets him get back to his feet. Hinds was close to stopping it if Mickle could have landed a few shots on the ground. He may anyway if Giacchina gets rocked again. Giacchina shoots at 1:10 and puts Mickle’s back on the cage but doesn’t keep him there. They start swinging wildly at each other until Giacchina gets a takedown at 1:50 into half guard. Giacchina is landing some nasty shots on top. He moves to side control landing hard lefts to the head and looking for a possible submission. Mickle escapes twice but gives up full mount in the process. Giacchina postures up at 3:55 but Mickle manages to tip the balance and scramble back to his feet. Giacchina shoots right back in for a takedown at 4:28 and immediate side control. He’s North-South as the round ends. 10-9 Giacchina.
Round 3: Another tap of gloves to start our third and final round. Both men are throwing down although Giacchina is slowly backing Mickle up toward the fence. Nice body shots for both men. Giacchina briefly has a takedown at 1:10 and stays on Mickle’s back as they get vertical. Hinds warns Mickle not to grab the cage. Giacchina takes him down at 1:47 and is right back in side control. Giacchina grinds an elbow into Mickle’s face as he keeps hunting for a submission, while Mickle keeps trying to buck him off to get back up. Nothing doing as Giacchina blocks it and takes the back with both hooks in, flattening Mickle out and sinking in the rear naked choke. It is all over!
Final result: Anthony Giacchina wins via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:40 in the third round.
John Salgado vs. Hugh McKenna
Salgado is 4-7-1 and he fights out of Brooklyn in the black trunks and blue gloves. McKenna is 0-1 and fights out of New York in the red trunks and gloves. Our referee in charge is Dan Miragliotta.
Round 1: McKenna takes the center of the Bellator cage and Salgado dances to the outer circle firing right hooks and right leg kicks. McKenna continues to push forward but Salgado is arguably scoring more. Both men slip at 1:11 and then McKenna grabs a head clinch to fire off a couple of knees. Salgado tries to get free sliding sideways on the fence as he eats more knees to the body and uppercuts. McKenna takes him down to side control at 1:58 and quickly moves to full mount. McKenna pops his head free at 2:24 from an ineffective guillotine attempt. Salgado is warned about linking his toes in the fence as he tries to push off with his feet. McKenna lands an elbow. McKenna goes for a kimura, Salgado is warned to let go of the cage, McKenna hops to side control and Salgado is warned if he screams again it’ll be a tap. He taps moments later with under a minute left.
Final result: Hugh McKenna wins via submission (armbar) at 4:06 of the first round.
Matt Rizzo vs. Sergio da Silva
Both men are wearing red trunks for this fight, but Da Silva has the blue gloves and Rizzo has the red. Da Silva is 6-8 and Rizzo is 9-2. Da Silva fights out of Queens, New York by way of Brazil and Rizzo fights out of Levittown, PA. Our referee in charge is John McCarthy.
Round 1: Both men take the center for the first 20 seconds until Rizzo backs up Da Silva with a high kick and then looks for a takedown against the fence. Rizzo is driving knees to the body as he does so, although one camera shot also clearly shows him grabbing the fence, which McCarthy finally sees and gives him a warning for. Two minutes in Rizzo is still struggling for the leg trip takedown, Da Silva nearly overpowering him, then using underhooks to keep himself upright. Rizzo finally completes the takedown at 2:43 but can’t keep his opponent down. Da Silva hits a knee that looks low but McCarthy says it was clean and they keep fighting. Da Silva gives up a takedown at 3:30 looking for a knee bar but Rizzo takes his back and gets one hook in. Da Silva escapes and Rizzo immediately drops levels again, but Da Silva sprawls to block and winds up on top in guard as time ticks away. 10-9 Rizzo but a judge could find reasons to go the other way.
Round 2: Both men start firing shots immediately to open R2. Da Silva takes Rizzo down 20 seconds into the round. Rizzo is trying to use butterfly guard to keep Da Silva from passing. Rizzo is warned not to link his toes in the cage as he tries to push free and/or set up a triangle or armbar. Da Silva tries to power his way free and the risk pays off as Rizzo loses the grip on the powerbomb, but Rizzo is going for a heel hook instead and Da Silva gives up top position defending. Rizzo gets full mount at 3:48. He transitions to the back with both hooks in but only a minute to work. Rizzo gets an arm under the chin but can’t sink it in and winds up on top again in full mount. Rizzo as more active even when he was on the bottom so this was a 10-9 round for him.
Round 3: Rizzo lands a left hook, drops levels immediately and has a takedown at 9 seconds. Da Silva is trying to throw upkicks to no avail. Rizzo is trying to work his way to the back at the same time Da Silva tries to stand back up. Rizzo decides instead to get on top in side control and then jump to the back, sinking one hook in at 2:32. Da Silva squirms around but Rizzo looks for an arm triangle choke and McCarthy is taking a close look. McCarthy stops the fight with a little over a minute left.
Final result: Matt Rizzo wins by submission (arm triangle choke) at 3:48 of the third round.
Nate Grebb vs. Bradley Desir
This is our “VOW” fight of the night. Desir is 9-5 and a Marine in the white trunks and red gloves fighting out of Bronx, New York. Grebb is 3-1 and a Navy veteran in the black trunks and blue gloves who fights out of Baltimore, Maryland. Our referee in charge is Todd Anderson.
Round 1: Desir takes the center throwing leg kicks and backing Grebb up. Grebb tries a spin kick and falls down. Desir lets him back up. Desir continues to throw both hands and feet. Grebb tries to spin again and eats a right hand. Grebb’s face is getting marked up. There’s blood trickling out of his nose. Desir keeps on pressuring forward and lands a hard left jab. Grebb knocks him off his feet with a leg kick but Desir gets up quick. His left hand continues to find the mark. They trade leg kicks. Grebb and Desir land simultaneous hands but Grebb looks wobbled for a second. Desir hits him one more time and Hinds waves it off with a little over two minutes left in the first round.
Final result: Bradley Desir wins via knockout at 2:54 of the first round.