Bellator MMA will finally head to the Big Apple. The “American Gangster” Chael Sonnen will face Wanderlei Silva at Bellator 180 on June 24 at Madison Square Garden. This is the second time the promotion will attempt a pay-per-view card. The Associated Press made the announcement Monday afternoon. “We always said that when we come to New York,” Bellator President Scott Coke told the AP. “We’ll bring the biggest and the best fight card we’ve ever had in the history of this company. We’re putting it together, and our roster is robust enough that we feel like it’s time to get into the pay-per-view business, so here we go.” This is the promotions first visit to New York City. This is the third professional MMA card to take place at MSG. The first being the historic UFC 205 in November under rival promotion, the UFC. The World Series of Fighting closed out 2016 with a New Year’s Eve card at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Sonnen (29-15-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) made his Bellator debut in January at Bellator 170 after coming out of a nearly three-year retirement. In his debut, Sonnen lost to a controversial first-round submission against long-time rival Tito Ortiz. Silva (35-12-1 (1), 0-0 BMMA) will make his Bellator debut at the inaugural New York card for the promotion. Silva’s last bout was in the UFC octagon against Brian Stann at UFC on Fuel TV: Silva vs. Stann in 2013. This will be the first time Sonnen and Silva will face each other in their professional careers. The last time they attempted to join the pay-per-view business was in May of 2014. After PPV buys did not meet expectations, they continued their Spike TV deal. “I’ve watched how hard Bellator has worked and how they’ve stuck through it,” Sonnen told the AP. “I think they belong on pay-per-view. After a I joined up, I was stunned that Bellator was packing houses from the East Coast to the West Coast. They’ve got a great product, and it just seemed like the next logical step was going into pay-per-view.” Ticket information is TBA for the event. Post Views: 1,998 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Kristine Haugsjaa Kristine is a Managing Editor for DoubleGSports.com as well as UFC/MMA Lead Writer. She also hosts a column known as Fighting Words. Latest posts by Kristine Haugsjaa (see all) NJ’s Chookagian makes flyweight debut at UFC Charlotte - November 7, 2017 Fighting Words: Bellator is Giving Hardy the Credit She Deserves - October 20, 2017 Frankie Edgar to face Champion Max Holloway at UFC 218 - October 3, 2017 Boxing’s Amanda Serrano heading to MMA - September 21, 2017 Related Topicsbellator 180Bellator MMAChael SonnenMadison Square GardenmmaNYCwanderlei silva Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. More in Feature You Know I’m Right, Episode 113: New York Post Columnist Phil Mushnick (Audio/Video) On the 113th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 112: New York Jets’ Insider Brian Costello (Audio/Video) On the 112th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 111: New York Giants’ Insider John Schmeelk (Audio/Video) On the 111th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) On the 109th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... Michael Conlan Shines In Debut Fight On St. Patrick’s Day WWE’s Zack Ryder looking to make a comeback both in and out of the ring