Bellator 172: Thrilling Outcomes and Fighter Highlights
Bellator 172 took place on February 18, 2017, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Fedor Emelianenko’s scheduled heavyweight bout with Matt Mitrione was canceled hours before the event after Mitrione fell ill. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire and Josh Thomson were moved into the main event, where Freire won by second-round TKO.
Main Event: Freire vs. Thomson
Freire stopped former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson at 0:40 of Round 2. After a measured opening round, Freire dropped Thomson with a right hand, then finished with an uppercut and follow-up punches. The fight was originally the co-main event before Emelianenko vs. Mitrione was called off.
Heavyweight Division: Kongo vs. Thompson
Cheick Kongo defeated Oli Thompson by unanimous decision. The judges scored it 30–26, 30–25 and 30–25 for Kongo, who controlled the fight with grappling, clinch knees and top-position strikes.
Other Notable Fights
Anatoly Tokov stopped Francisco France by ground-and-pound at 2:24 of Round 2 in a 187-pound catchweight bout. Veta Arteaga earned a doctor-stoppage TKO over Brooke Mayo at 4:04 of Round 3. Mauricio Alonso stopped Josh Koscheck by TKO at 4:42 of Round 1.
Additional Results
On the undercard, James Terry defeated JC Llamas by technical decision, Nikko Jackson beat Cesar Gonzalez by unanimous decision, and J.J. Okanovich submitted Zach Andrews with a rear-naked choke at 2:26 of Round 2.
For the surrounding event recaps, read Bellator 171 and Bellator 173.
Selected Bout Results
- Juan Cardenas defeated Luis Vargas by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke); round 1, 4:12.
- Bobby Escalante defeated Anthony Do by Submission (Choke); round 1, 1:40.
- Jeremy Murphy defeated Matt Ramirez by TKO (Punches); round 3, 1:41.
- Abraham Vaesau defeated Dominic Sumner by TKO (Punches); round 1, 4:15.
- Patricky Freire defeated Josh Thomson by KO (Punch); round 2, 0:40.
- Cheick Kongo defeated Oli Thompson by Decision (Unanimous); round 3, 5:00.
Sources
MMA Fighting: Bellator 172 results; MMA Fighting: Freire stops Thomson; Event results record.
Article Tags
Bellator, Bellator 172, Mixed Martial Arts
