Phil Davis defends light heavyweight belt against Bader at Bellator 180

Poster promoting the fight between Davis and Bader. (Photo: Bellator/Disclosure)

The historic Bellator 180 card, which will take place on June 24th, in New York (USA), at the legendary Madison Square Garden, saw yet another title fight. And it will involve two former UFC fighters: the light heavyweight champion (up to 93kg) Phil Davis will face the newcomer Ryan bader. Initially, Bader would debut in the new house facing King mo Laval, also in edition 180, but the American was injured and was forced to leave the fight.

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The confrontation is a rematch. In January 2015, Bader defeated Davis by unanimous decision at UFC Stockholm, in the fight that sealed Mr. Wonderful's departure from the UFC.

Phil will defend his title for the first time. After winning the category tournament in 2015 with triumphs over Emmanuel Newton and Francis Carmont, he qualified for the position of challenger by overcoming King mo by unanimous decision. He won the belt in a victory over former champion Liam McGeary, at Bellator 163, in April 2016.

TUF 8 champion, Bader had been in the UFC since 2008. In total, he had 20 fights, accumulating 15 wins and only five losses. Among its most relevant victims are names like Rashad evans, Ovince St Preux, Rafael Feijão, Quinton Rampage Jackson e Rogério Minotouro. On the other hand, it was surpassed by Lyoto Machida, Glover Teixeira, Jon Jones, Tito Ortiz e Anthony Johnson.

Bellator 180 will feature the duel between Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen in the main fight of the night, while Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione are the second most important attraction of the show. In addition to the light heavyweight belt, two more title fights are scheduled. O welterweight champion Douglas Lima will put his belt on the line against newcomer Lorenz Larkin, a former UFC fighter, while the lightweight Michael chandler defends his reign against Brent Primus. Brazilian Chinzo Machida is also present: he faces James Gallagher.