The bulk of the hype leading into Bellator’s return to New York’s Madison Square Garden has been geared towards the matchup between former UFC light heavyweight championLyoto Machida and longtime contender Chael Sonnen.
For good reason: This is a fight that simply feels like it should have been made long ago, and it’s finally happening.
It’s been assumed up to this point that Machida vs. Sonnen is the headliner for the June 14 event, which will stream live on DAZN, given that not only has the bulk of the attention gone to this fight, but MSG even featured the two on a billboard outside the arena.
However, Machida vs. Sonnen is not the main event of the evening. That honor goes to Rory MacDonald vs. Neiman Gracie, a bout which is both for MacDonald’s Bellator welterweight title and a semifinal fight in the 170-pound grand prix, MMA Junkie has learned.
Machida vs. Sonnen will serve as the evening’s co-feature bout. MacDonald vs. Gracie is one of two title bouts on the card, as Darrion Caldwell will defend his bantamweight title against Rizin counterpart Kyoji Horiguchi, a rematch of a New Year’s Eve bout won by Horiguchi in Japan.
For more on Bellator 222, go to the Rumors section of the site.
