Matt Mitrione was forced out of the Bellator 172 main event on Saturday evening, just hours before the tent-pole event kicked off, and opponent Fedor Emelianenko was left without an opponent. MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani reported that a late replacement was briefly sought; Chael Sonnen, who recently made his comeback to mixed martial arts, offered his services, and Oli Thompson, who fights Cheick Kongo tonight on the main card, was also in discussions.
Chael Sonnen offered to fight Fedor on just hours notice, I'm told.