Bellator NYC Press Conference Live Stream Today (April 9)

A press conference hyping up Bellator’s return to New York City will take place today (April 9). Bellator is going back to “The World’s Most Famous Arena” Madison Square Garden on June 14. Chael Sonnen and Lyoto Machida will col…

A press conference hyping up Bellator’s return to New York City will take place today (April 9). Bellator is going back to “The World’s Most Famous Arena” Madison Square Garden on June 14. Chael Sonnen and Lyoto Machida will collide in the light heavyweight division. Neiman Gracie is set to take on the winner of […]

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Bellator NYC Tanks At Box Office

The early estimated PPV (pay-per-view) numbers for Bellator NYC are in. Dave Meltzer of MMA Fighting is reporting that the early estimates look to be in the 90,000 to 130,000 buy range. This has to be a disappointing number for Bellator President Scott Coker and Viacom. Unfortunately, these numbers are long the same lines as […]

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The early estimated PPV (pay-per-view) numbers for Bellator NYC are in.

Dave Meltzer of MMA Fighting is reporting that the early estimates look to be in the 90,000 to 130,000 buy range. This has to be a disappointing number for Bellator President Scott Coker and Viacom.

Unfortunately, these numbers are long the same lines as the first Bellator pay-per-view event that took place in 2014 and was headlined by Rampage Jackson vs. King Mo Lawal. That fight was a grudge match.

Bellator NYC: Sonnen vs. Silva took place on Saturday, June 24, 2017, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The promotion decided to call the PPV portion of the event Bellator NYC while the preliminary portion of the event was titled Bellator 180. 

Bellator NYC was headlined by Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva. In the co-main event, MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko took on former UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione. Rounding out the main card was Michael Chandler defending his lightweight title as well as Douglas Lima defending his welterweight title against new free-agent acquisition Lorenz Larkin, and Aaron Pico vs. Zach Freeman in a lightweight bout.

This was easily the most star studded event that Bellator has ever booked. From top to bottom, this card was stacked. Even though Sonnen and Silva are past their primes, it could be argued that they would’ve drawn very well on Spike TV.

Before the event, Coker came out and stated that they hoped to get to 200,000 buys. Following the event, David Schwarz of Spike TV talked of the Madison Square Garden event as a major success.

“I can say we are all very pleased with everything from the Bellator PPV – that, of course, includes the record gate, record domestic attendance, strong numbers for Bellator 180 and great exposure for the brand, and great momentum as we plan our next PPV. Details coming.”

Although Bellator did announce that the first PPV in 2014 did just over 100,000 buys, Schwarz said that Viacom company policy would not allow a release of the official numbers for Bellator NYC.

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Wanderlei Silva Eying Chael Sonnen Rematch In Brazil

After years and years of build-up, bad blood and back-and-forth banter, Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva finally settled their differences inside the cage this past weekend (June 24, 2017) in the main event of Bellator: NYC live on pay-per-view from the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City. The fight, however, didn’t go as […]

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After years and years of build-up, bad blood and back-and-forth banter, Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva finally settled their differences inside the cage this past weekend (June 24, 2017) in the main event of Bellator: NYC live on pay-per-view from the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The fight, however, didn’t go as planned for Silva, an aggressive striker, as he was controlled and dominated on the ground for the majority of the bout. “The Axe Murderer” wanted to make ‘the crowd go wild’ and ‘give them a show’, but Sonnen’s grappling-heavy style didn’t allow him to do so, which is why he was ‘mad’ after the bout:

“I was as mad at him as I was mad at myself. I wanted it to be a dog fight, thrilling, with guys being knocked down left and right.” Silva told Combate. “The type of fight people are used to see Wanderlei Silva in. Unfortunately, my opponent wasn’t too keen on putting on a show, he wanted to smother and grapple me. I like to make the crowd go wild, give them a show. The few moments where he engaged me were the best moments. I came close to finishing the fight. I had the best moment of the fight. Because of the rules, I knew he had defeated me by points.”

Being 40-years-old and having not competed in over four years, Silva had his moments on the feet, although he didn’t see much success in the fight overall. Apparently the Brazilian slugger plans to continue his fighting career, however, and he expressed interest in a rematch with Sonnen in his native Brazil:

“I want the rematch bad, I want to show I can neutralize his gameplan and beat him. I’ll pursue it to the end. I’m getting ready for it, as a matter of fact. It might not be my next fight, but it’s bound to happen. Brazil has many venues. Here in Curitiba there’s the stadium where they hosted UFC 198. I’m sure that if Bellator ever comes to Brazil, this would be a nice place. And with Silva on the card, a packed house is guaranteed.”

Would you like to see the two veterans run it back inside the Bellator cage, or did Sonnen’s performance last weekend do enough to close the door on this rivalry?

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Bellator NYC/180 Medical Suspensions: Fedor Emelianenko Sits For 90 Days

Fedor Emelianenko will have the longest sit on the list of Bellator NYC/180 medical suspensions. This past Saturday night (June 24), Bellator NYC/180 took place inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. In the main event of Bellator NYC, Chael Sonnen defeated Wanderlei Silva via unanimous decision. Neither man was handed a suspension. Ryan […]

Fedor Emelianenko will have the longest sit on the list of Bellator NYC/180 medical suspensions. This past Saturday night (June 24), Bellator NYC/180 took place inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. In the main event of Bellator NYC, Chael Sonnen defeated Wanderlei Silva via unanimous decision. Neither man was handed a suspension. Ryan […]

Michael Chandler: Primus Can Walk Around With His ‘Hefner Jacket & Fake Belt’

Last Saturday night’s (June 24, 2017) hyped Bellator NYC was supposed to be an opportunity to showcase his spot among MMA’s best 155-pound fighters, but instead, Michael Chandler saw his much-less-ballyhooed opponent Brent Primus emerge with the belt in Madison Square Garden after Chandler was resigned to essentially fighting on one leg after clearly harming […]

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Last Saturday night’s (June 24, 2017) hyped Bellator NYC was supposed to be an opportunity to showcase his spot among MMA’s best 155-pound fighters, but instead, Michael Chandler saw his much-less-ballyhooed opponent Brent Primus emerge with the belt in Madison Square Garden after Chandler was resigned to essentially fighting on one leg after clearly harming his ankle.

But even though that was the case, Chandler managed to rock Primus with one of his trademark big right hands despite being hardly able to stand. Shortly thereafter, the highly-derided New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) stepped in to stop the bout, and Primus was the de facto champion. Chandler is understandably angry at the situation, yet he did all he could to look at the mess from a positive light during an appearance on The MMA Hour this week, noting that he had no serious injuries to deal with.

To him, it was unfortunate the fight was called off right after he rocked Primus:

“Nothing’s broken,” Chandler said. “I went straight to the ER, the doctors at Bellevue ER, I got in, they X-rayed it, nothing broken. It’s a good thing. I could be just getting out of surgery right now with a rod in my leg. Luckily, I’m not. The unfortunate part of the situation was, that ref called for the doctors to come into the cage 15 seconds after I just dropped him. On one leg.”

Chandler confirmed his desire to fight on despite a clear injury and cageside doctors saying otherwise, detailing how he told all three officiating the fight that his ankle would need to be broken to justify calling off a championship bout of such magnitude:

“You heard me, I said, I looked at three doctors in the eye and said, ‘This thing better be broken. f you’re going to stop this fight in front of all of these people, with all the hard work I’ve put in, with all this on the line, and that belt, this thing better be broken.”

His warrior spirit and will to fight on wasn’t in question, however, as it more of his health that appeared on the line at the time. Chandler proved he wasn’t denying the obvious fact his foot was seriously hurt, stating that most who watched the bout would have said it was doubtful he still should have been in a fight:

“If you lined up 100 people right now and said ‘Hey, watch this clip, is that man right there fit to fight,’ 90 percent of them would say ‘No, he was stumbling all over the place.’”

Photo by Ed Mulholland for USA TODAY Sports

Even though he’s willing to acknowledge the injury though, Chandler apparently still has a bone to pick with the NYSAC – something that has become a given during the state’s extremely controversial track record during the rough-and-tumble first eight months of them regulating professional MMA cards. The former champion cited those instances along with his as a reason he isn’t exactly hoping to fight in New York again soon:

“New York is a cool city, but I don’t want to fight here ever again,” Chandler said. “It’s a little bit amateur hour, man. It’s different. They don’t know what they’re doing in MMA as much as they should. We’ve had five fight cards and every single one of them has been some crazy controversy going on.”

As for the new champ, Chandler put it in plain terms when he said he thinks he would have finished Primus cut-and-dry if an injury didn’t take him out of the fight, so his new foil should enjoy his fake belt while he can:

“I would have finished him,” Chandler said. “If this was the 18th century, and we were in the middle of a field, and it was me and Brent Primus, and I had one leg to stand on, I win that fight 100 times out of 100. That’s the funny thing.

“I’m still the champion. Let’s be honest. An injury took me out of the fight. Brent Primus can wear his Hugh Hefner jacket and wear that fake belt around his shoulder.”

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Chael Sonnen Reveals He ‘Has To Fight’ Rory MacDonald

Bellator: NYC took place last night live on pay-per-view (PPV) from Madison Square Garden in New York City, and the main event featured a grudge match years in the making, as bitter rivals Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva finally did battle. Sonnen dominated Silva over the course of three rounds to score a unanimous decision […]

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Bellator: NYC took place last night live on pay-per-view (PPV) from Madison Square Garden in New York City, and the main event featured a grudge match years in the making, as bitter rivals Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva finally did battle.

Sonnen dominated Silva over the course of three rounds to score a unanimous decision victory before calling out all-time heavyweight great Fedor Emelianenko, who was knocked out by Matt Mitrione in the co-main event.

Speaking to MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani after the event, Sonnen explained the callout:

“Don’t miss interpret that,” Sonnen said. “I’m on a legends ass whipping tour, and there’s only so many of them around here, and Fedor is the next one around here, and I believe that fight was being looked at. So, if we’re going to do this fight anyway, let’s just make it my idea. And I was never kicking a guy when he was down, don’t forget he was the curtain jerker and I was the main event. I’m going to be the main event next time too, and I was pulling Fedor up.” 

MMA Junkie / USA Today

The first stop on Sonnen’s self-proclaimed ‘legends ass whipping tour’ came in the form of a bout against former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz at Bellator 170 last January. After a heated build-up, Sonnen lost the bout via submission, which didn’t sit well with him.

Ortiz happened to be at the event last night as well, and it appears as if the bad blood between him and Sonnen hasn’t gone away, as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” elected to scream at Sonnen, while “The American Gangster” was in the cage:

“Oh, it was terribly rude,” Sonnen said of Ortiz’s actions. “I looked over to Tito, made eye contact with him, he was right there at the cage. I thought he was going to give me a thumbs up, we’ve got a history together, I’ve known him since college, we’ve competed a couple of times. And he gives me the bird, he’s flipping me off, and then he’s yelling.”

As far as what’s next for Sonnen, perhaps a bout between him and Emelianenko could be in the works for Bellator, or perhaps a rematch between him and Ortiz would make sense, although Ortiz has said that he’s remaining in retirement.

Both of those options appear to make a bit of sense, but “The American Gangster” has other plans as well:

“Rory MacDonald and I are going to cross paths eventually. I know, weird to call out a guy who’s 170-pounds, but there’s a story behind it. Rory knows what happened, we have to fight.”, Sonnen concluded. 

MacDonald then responded and expressed interest in the bout:

 

MacDonald made his Bellator debut earlier this year, submitting Paul Daley in London. The “Red King” is now expected to take on Douglas Lima for the Bellator welterweight title, but would you like to see him take on Sonnen instead?

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