The co-main event for the second ever Bellator MMA pay-per-view is set and it’s a fight that was originally planned for last month’s Bellator 172 as Fedor Emelianenko takes on Matt Mitrione.
Emelianenko (36-4-0-1NC) will enter the fight riding a five fight winning streak, with those wins coming over Jeff Monson, Satoshi Ishii, Pedro Rizzo, Jaideep Singh and Fabio Maldonado. Emelianenko is a former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion and he held the belt until the promotion folded. Emelianenko hasn’t suffered a defeat in almost six years, with his last loss coming to Dan Henderson at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson.
Mitrione (11-5-0) was the fighter who pulled out of the planned Bellator 172 after suffering from the effects of kidney stones. Mitrione is currently undefeated in Bellator MMA competition, with those wins coming over the duo of Carl Seumanautafa and Oli Thompson. Mitrione spent the first seven years of his professional MMA career in the UFC, where he earned a total of nine wins.
Fedor is often considered among the greatest fighters of all-time, particularly at heavyweight, but has struggled when fighting on American soil.
Bellator 180 takes place on Saturday, June 24 from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York with Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva headlining. Fightful will be providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
