Phil Davis will be making his first Bellator light heavyweight title defense later this summer, and now he has a new opponent.
The champion will now face Ryan Bader at Bellator 180 on June 24 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The news was first announced by Davis on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. Bader was originally scheduled to headline the Spike TV event against Muhammad Lawal, but “King Mo” was forced to withdraw from the card after sustaining an undisclosed injury.
This title fight is a rematch, as both fighters had previously fought at UFC on FOX 14 back in 2015 where Bader outpointed Davis to win a split decision.