Bellator notified MMATorch.com via press release this afternoon that Matt Mitrione is unable to complete at Bellator 172 tonight night due to kidney stones. As a result, his main event fight against Fedor Emelianenko has been postponed. No date has been determined.
Bellator announcer Sean Grande said at the start of tonight’s Spike TV broadcast that Mitrione informed Bellator officials he was struggling with kidney stones “a couple days ago.” He said at first Mitrione didn’t think it’d be an issue, but it “became a significantly bigger issue last night.” He said he desperately wanted to fight tonight, but the decision was made around 3:15 this afternoon to call off the fight. Grande said Fedor was offered other opponents, but Fedor opted to wait until Mitrione could fight.
As a result, Josh Thomson vs. Patricky “Pitbull” has moved into the main event slot.
Bellator says refunds will be offered at the patron’s original point of purchase.
The resulting main card is as follows:
- Lightweight Main Event: Josh Thomson (22-8, 1 NC) vs. Patricky “Pitbull” (16-8)
- Heavyweight Feature Fight: Cheick Kongo (25-10-2) vs. Oli Thompson (17-9)
- Flyweight Feature Fight: Veta Arteaga (2-1) vs. Brooke Mayo (Debut)
- Welterweight Feature Fight: Josh Koscheck (17-10) vs. Mauricio Alonso (12-7, 1 NC)
Check out Bellator’s website for a full rundown of the preliminary fights.
Keller’s Analysis: This is a tough blow to Bellator and Spike TV, as this was one of the highest profile, most anticipated fights they’ve ever promoted. The new main event is more typical of a Bellator main event on Spike, so fortunately for the card, there was a solid second-from-the-top featured fight.
Leave a Reply