Fans who showed up at the SAP Center in San Jose for Bellator 172 on Saturday night got a big knockout in the main event. But it wasn’t the one they were expecting.
After the originally scheduled headliner of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Mitrione was called off hours before the event due to a Mitrione case of kidney stones, the lightweight co-main event of Josh Thomson vs. Patricky Freire was bumped up to the main slot.
And the Brazilian fighter nicknamed “Pitbull” ended the show with a flourish, using a big uppercut and a pair of hammerfists to finish the former Strikeforce lightweight champion.