The planned Bellator 172 main event between Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione was canceled last-minute due to a Mitrione medical condition, but that didn’t stop the event from moving forward.
The lightweight co-main event bout between Patricky Freire and Josh Thomson was moved to headlining status. Freire made the most of the opportunity, knocking Thomson out early in the second round.
Not only did Freire top the revised fight card and Thomson, he also topped the disclosed fighter payroll, taking home an $80,000 payday for his victory.
Following close behind were Cheick Kongo, who netted $75,000 for his win over Oli Thompson, and Josh Koscheck. Despite losing his long-awaited Bellator debut, Koscheck also received a $75,000 payday.
The California State Athletic Commission released the Bellator 172 disclosed fighter purses to MMAWeekly.com.
Although the Emelianenko vs. Mitrione fight was canceled due to a medical emergency – Mitrione developed kidney stones – after both fighters had already weighed in, it was unclear if either was paid his show money for the fight. Neither Bellator nor the CSAC responded to requests for clarification on the pay for the canceled fight.
Bellator 172 took place on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.
Bellator 172: Fedor vs. Mitrione Fighter Salaries
- Patricky Freire: $80,000 (includes $40,000 win bonus) def. Josh Thomson ($10,000)
- Cheick Kongo: $75,000 (no win bonus) def. Oli Thompson ($25,000)
- Anatoly Tokov: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Kiko France: $12,000
- Veta Arteaga: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus) def. Brooke Mayo $8,000
- Mauricio Alonso: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Josh Koscheck: $75,000
- Nikko Jackson: $2,000 (includes $1,000 win bonus) def. Cesar Gonzalez $1,000
- J.J. Okanaovich: $3,000 (includes $1,500 win bonus) def. Zach Andrews: $1,500
- James Terry: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. J.C. Llamas: $2,500
- Gaston Bolanos: $4,000 (no win bonus) def. Abner Perez: $1,000
- Martin Sano: $2,000 vs. Diego Herzog: $2,500 – ruled a majority draw
- Justin Tenedora: $2,000 (includes $1,000 win bonus) def. Roque Reyes: $1,000
- Juan Cardenas: $2,000 (includes $1,000 win bonus) def. Luis Vargas: $1,000
- Jeremy Murphy: $2,400 (includes $1,200 win bonus) def. Matt Ramirez: $1,800
- Abraham Vaesau: $2,000 (includes $1,000 win bonus) def. Dominic Sumner: $1,000
- Bobby Escalanate: $2,000 (includes $1,000 win bonus) def. Anthony Do: $1,500
