If you needed a reason to watch NBA All-Star Saturday instead of Bellator 172, you just got one. Saturday’s main event between heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione has been cancelled just hours before showtime.
According to MMAFighting.com, Mitrione was pulled from the scrap after becoming ill.
At the time of publication, Bellator had yet to officially announce the cancellation of the fight.
Bellator reportedly scrambled to find Emelianenko a last-second substitute, including Chael Sonnen who is in attendance as an observer, but the promotion opted to save “The Last Emperor” for another day.
It is unknown what illness forced Mitrone to withdraw.
Bellator is hoping to reschedule Emelianenko’s promotional debut within a few months.
The lightweight shootout between Patricky Freire and Josh Thomson, who were initially slated to co-headline the show, now gets top billing.
It is unknown if Emelianenko and Mitrione will be paid their show money.
SAP Center in San Jose, California hosts Bellator 172. Spike TV airs the Fedor-less main card starting at 9PM ET/PT.
Here is the show’s revised lineup:
Preliminary Card:
(5thRound.com 7PM ET/4PM PT)
Gaston Bolanos vs. Abner Perez
Roque Reyes vs. Justin Tenedora
J.J. Okanovich vs. Paradise Vaovasa
Matthew Ramirez vs. Jeremy Murphy
Bobby Escalante vs. Anthony Do
Carlos Eduardo Rocha vs. Danasabe Mohammed
Juan Cardenas vs. Luis Vargas
Cesar Gonzalez vs. Nikko Jackson
David Douglas vs. James Terry
Francisco France vs. Anatoly Tokov
Main Card:
(Spike TV 9PM ET/PT)
Mauricio Alonso vs. Josh Koscheck
Cheick Kongo vs. Oli Thompson
Patricky Freire vs. Josh Thomson
Loading ...