Bellator NYC takes place on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City and will be headlined by a light heavyweight bout as Chael Sonnen looks for his first win in Bellator as he meets Wanderlei Silva. In the co-main event of the fight card that will air on pay-per-view, Fedor Emelianenko will make his promotional debut against Matt Mitrione in a bout that was initially scheduled to take place earlier this year at Bellator 172.
Along with those two fights, the rest of the card will feature two title fights as Douglas Lima will defend the welterweight title against Lorenz Larkin and Michael Chandler defends the lightweight title against Brent Primus. The other fight on this card will be the professional debut of Aaron Pico as he meets Zach Freeman in a lightweight bout.
Now let’s take a closer look at the five fights that will take place at Bellator NYC.
Chael Sonnen (29-15-1) vs. Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1, 1 NC)
The feud between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva started several years ago and Sonnen will be looking to snap a two fight losing streak when he meets Silva. Sonnen lost his Bellator debut at the beginning of this year against Tito Ortiz and he is 3-4 in his last seven fights.
- 7th best strike differential (+2.01) in UFC middleweight division history (Robert Whittaker #1, +2.71) – Minimum 5 UFC fights
- Best significant strike defense (67.7%) in UFC middleweight division history – Minimum 5 UFC fights and 350 significant strikes attempts by opponents.
- 2nd best Strikes Absorbed per Minute (1.12) in UFC middleweight division history (David Branch #1, 0.87) – Minimum 5 UFC fights
- 2nd most takedown landed (35) in UFC middleweight division history (Rafael Natal #1, 36)
After being on the sidelines for four years, Wanderlei Silva will step into mixed martial arts competition and will be looking for back to back victories for the first time since 2006. He has alternated wins and losses in his last five fights and his last two victories have come by TKO/KO in the second round.
- Silva’s last fight came at UFC on FUEL TV 8 against Brian Stann (4 years, 3 months, and 21 days ago).
- 27 of his 35 victories have come by TKO/KO and his only submission win came in 2000 against Bob Schrijber.
- All of his losses have either come by TKO/KO or decision.
- Tied with Anderson Silva and Anthony Johnson for the 8th most knockdowns landed (5) in UFC light heavyweight division history (Chuck Liddell #1, 14).
Fedor Emelianenko (36-4, 1 NC) vs. Matt Mitrione (11-5)
Fedor Emelianenko came out of retirement in 2015 and has won back to back fights since coming back. He enters this fight card on a five fight winning streak and he is coming off a majority decision victory against former UFC fighter Fabio Maldonado.
- His victory over Maldonado came 372 days ago (1 year, 7 days).
- 27 of his 36 wins have come by stoppage (10 TKO/KO, 17 Submissions).
- Prior to the decision victory against Maldonado, he had won three in a row by 1st round stoppage.
Matt Mitrione signed with Bellator last year after having all of his previous fights (14) took place in the UFC. He has won both of his fights in Bellator by TKO/KO and he has won five of his last seven fights.
- Tied with multiple fighters for the 3rd most TKO/KO wins in Bellator heavyweight division history.
- Tied with Roy Nelson for the 4th most knockdowns landed (9) in UFC heavyweight division history (Junior dos Santos #1, 12).
- 2nd best significant strike defense (64.6%) in UFC heavyweight division history (Jon Madsen #1, 81.4%) – Minimum 5 UFC fights and 350 strike attempts by opponents.
Douglas Lima (28-6) vs. Lorenz Larkin (18-5, 1 NC)
Douglas Lima became the eighth fighter in Bellator history to be a two-time champion as he defeated Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 164 to regain the Bellator welterweight title. He has won ten of his twelve fights in Bellator and is 7-1 in his last eight fights.
- Tied with Ben Askren for the 2nd most wins in Bellator welterweight division history (Andrey Koreshkov, 10) and is tied with multiple fighters for the 5th most wins in Bellator history.
- Most TKO/KO wins (8) in Bellator history.
- One of five fighters in Bellator history to win a tournament in the same weight class twice.
After having ten fights in the UFC, Lorenz Larkin is making his Bellator debut on Saturday night. He enters this fight with back to back victories and is coming off a TKO victory against Neil Magny at UFC 202 (1o months ago).
- Tied with Nate Diaz for the 3rd best Strikes Landed per Minute (5.34) in UFC welterweight division history (Duane Ludwig #1, 6.72) – Minimum 5 UFC fights.
- Holds a decision victory over former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.
- 4-1 in his last five fights and three of those wins came by TKO.
Michael Chandler (16-3) vs. Brent Primus (7-0)
Bellator NYC will mark the second lightweight title defense for Michael Chandler since becoming a two-time Bellator champion and he enters this fight with four straight victories. He became a two-time champion last year with a knockout victory against Patricky Pitbull and is coming off a split decision victory over Benson Henderson.
- 2nd most wins (13) in Bellator history (Patricio Pitbull #1, 14).
- 7th most cage time (2:51:07) in Bellator history (Pat Curran #1, 4:04:39).
- Currently tied with Pat Curran and Alexander Shlemenko for 3rd most fights (16) in Bellator history (David Rickels and Patricio Pitbull #1, 18).
- His title defense against David Rickels at Bellator 97 is the 2nd fastest stoppage (:44) in Bellator title fight history (Brandon Halsey has fastest against Alexander Shlemenko, :35).
Brent Primus made his Bellator debut in 2013 and he enters this fight following back to back split decision victories. His most recent win came in April of last year as he defeated Gleristone Santos at Bellator 153.
- Tied with Brandon Girtz and Derek Anderson for the 7th most wins (5) in Bellator lightweight division history (Michael Chandler #1, 12).
- Tied with multiple fighters for the 4th most submission wins (2) in Bellator lightweight division history (Marcin Held #1, 5).
- This will be his fourth fight since March 7, 2014.
Aaron Pico (0-0) vs. Zach Freeman (8-2)
The MMA debut of Aaron Pico will take place in the opening bout of the pay-per-view and if he can live up to the hype, he may go down as the best free agent signing in Bellator history.
- His boxing accomplishments include 2009 National Junior Golden Gloves Championship Champ (Mesquite, NV Tournament Outstanding Boxer Award).
- Came in 2nd place at 65 kg in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials in Freestyle Wrestling.
Zach Freeman is a former RFA lightweight title challenger and this will be his first fight since losing to Thiago Moises at RFA 44 for the 155 pound title. He is 1-2 in his last three fights and this will be his Bellator debut.
- Five of his eight wins have come by submission.
- Opened his professional career with seven straight victories.
The complete Bellator NYC fight card is below.
Main Card (PPV – 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT)
Chael Sonnen (29-15-1) vs. Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1, 1 NC)
Fedor Emelianenko (36-4, 1 NC) vs. Matt Mitrione (11-5)
Douglas Lima (28-6) vs. Lorenz Larkin (18-5, 1 NC)
Michael Chandler (16-3) vs. Brent Primus (7-0)
Aaron Pico (0-0) vs. Zach Freeman (8-2)