Bellator 172 suffered a huge blow just hours before showtime, when Matt Mitrione was forced to withdraw from the highly-anticipated main event with Fedor Emelianenko due to illness (kidney stones).
Bellator MMA president Scott Coker explored several last-minute options to replace Mitrione - including Chael Sonnen - but ultimately, the fight was canceled, with hopes of rescheduling at a later date.
As a result, San Jose native Josh “The Punk” Thomson was promoted to headliner status, in a battle against fellow lightweight contender Patricky "Pitbull" Freire. Much to the dismay of his home crowd at SAP Center, Thomson was knocked out in round 2 by a vicious uppercut.
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Fresno's Josh Koscheck also lost via uppercut in his promotional debut against Mauricio Alonso. Both fighters came out swinging early, but Alonso's right haymaker late in round 1 proved to be the deciding shot, dropping Koscheck to the canvas. The former UFC welterweight contender has now lost six straight bouts.