On June 24, Bellator MMA will host just the second pay-per-view of its already illustrious history. This pay-per-view, which will broadcast live from Madison Square Garden in New York City, is aptly named “Bellator NYC.”
Bellator NYC will be headlined by a light heavyweight grudge match between three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen and Pride legend Wanderlei Silva. The co-headliner, meanwhile, will pit heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko against UFC veteran Matt Mitrione in a bout that was originally scheduled for January of this year. It will also feature two title fights: one at lightweight, where champ Michael Chandler will take on Brent Primus, and another at welterweight, where champ Douglas Lima will battle Lorenz Larkin.
Needless to say, this is a pretty amazing card for the ever-entertaining promotion. According to Bellator president Scott Coker, it is the best MMA pay-per-view of 2017 thus far. Coker sang the card’s praises in an interview with ESPN.
“The PPV business is tough and there’s a lot of competition in the marketplace,” Coker said. “There’s boxing fights around us, wrestling events, other MMA shows. But honestly, I think this is the best MMA PPV that’s been offered in 2017. I’m a fight fan and I always buy the big fights; I haven’t bought one of them this year. But this PPV, the way we’ve stacked it from top to bottom, is the best offering this year.”
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Coker then discussed projected PPV sales, and offered up the promotion’s target:
“When you say expectations, it’s something I think we’re going to feel,” Coker said. “To me, any [buy rate] in the mid-200,000s would be respectable. And anything in the 300,000s would be considered a big hit.
However Bellator MMA sells, Coker assured that it will not be the promotion’s last pay-per-view.
“This is not something we’re going to go in and out of,” he said. “This is something we’re committed to. The company is committed to doing PPV fights.”
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Will you be watching Bellator NYC on June 24?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/7/2017.