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Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen nearly scuffle at Bellator NYC faceoffs

NEW YORK – To the surprise of virtually no one in attendance, Bellator NYC headliners Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva needed to be separated during their faceoff at today’s news conference.

Sonnen (29-15-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) and Silva (35-12-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) have been dancing toward this moment for years now in a rivalry that was brewing when both were in the UFC coaching opposite each other on a Brazilian season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

On Saturday, they meet in the main event of Bellator’s second foray into the world of pay-per-view at Bellator NYC, which takes place at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City. The main card airs on pay-per-view following Bellator 180, which has a main card on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Sonnen and Silva remained calm, for the most part, during the news conference itself. But when it came time to meet on the stage with Bellator President Scott Coker in the middle, Sonnen told Silva early on to keep his distance, lest the two come to blows. They slowly inched toward each other, and when they were close enough, Silva gave his opponent a shove. Naturally, that caused the intervention of Coker and security personnel on the stage to keep things under control.

Sonnen and Silva were joined at the news conference by heavyweights Fedor Emelianenko (36-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and Matt Mitrione (11-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA), who meet in Saturday’s co-main event; welterweight champion Douglas Lima (28-6 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) and challenger Lorenz Larkin (18-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA); lightweight champ Michael Chandler (16-3 MMA, 13-3 BMMA) and challenger Brent Primus (7-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA); and Aaron Pico (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and Zach Freeman (8-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

Check out the video above to see today’s faceoffs and the Sonnen vs. Silva altercation.

For more on Bellator NYC and Bellator 180, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

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