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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Cole Konrad will finally defend his Bellator Heavyweight Championship this year, but his challenger wasn't decided in the cage.
After their first fight went to a "no contest," season five heavyweight tournament finalists Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos were slated for a rematch on Friday at Bellator 62. However, Santos came in at an egregiously high 277.8 lbs. at Thursday's weigh-ins, and according to multiple published reports the fight has been called off.
With the fight being called off due to Santos, Bellator has awarded Prindle the $100,000 tournament-winning prize, and the title shot that goes along with it. With the fight not happening on Friday, that will likely move Konrad's first Title defense up, as he won't have to wait for Prindle to recover before the fight can be booked.
Penick's Analysis: There's absolutely no excuse for Santos to be that far overweight, especially when he had an extra week to cut when the fight was pushed back from last Friday's event. It's a bit of karma, as well, considering the "no contest" in the first fight came from a vicious kick to Prindle's groin that ended the fight a minute and a half in. Bellator's making the right call in awarding the tournament win and title shot to Prindle, as they need to get an official challenger in the cage against Konrad. As far as Santos is concerned, I'd be surprised if Bellator gives him another booking after this. It's completely unacceptable, especially in this spot with what was on the line in the fight.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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