Bellator has received some miserable news about their star acquisition’s big promotional debut. That news? It’s not going to happen.
Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reports that the scheduled Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Mitrione main event has been scrapped with just hours to go before tonight’s card. The issue wasn’t on Fedor’s end, but rather Mitrione’s. The MMA vet has been pulled due to illness and the Bellator 172 headline tilt is a no-go. A substitute was searched for with nothing acceptable popping up at such short notice. As a result, the lightweight clash of Josh Thomson vs. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire will take over as the main event.
Bellator is said to be eyeing another shot at debuting Fedor Emelianenko and we can certainly understand why. Fedor’s mystique may have faded as the years have passed, but the heavyweight is still a major attraction and curiosity. For a promotion like Bellator, it could be a major boost to their public perception in an MMA landscape where the UFC isn’t pleasing everyone they employ. Speaking of which, fans wanting a refund for tonight’s fight can get one before the event begins. The network hosting the card, Spike, likely isn’t happy that they’re going to hemorrhage even more viewers on a competitive sports Saturday night.
(Via MMA Fighting)
