Bellator 172: Cheick Kongo vs Oli Thompson joins 'Fedor vs Mitrione' line up in San Jose

Bellator 172 "Fedor vs. Mitrione" is coming to SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Feb. 18, 2017. The bout to lure the fans in the door that evening is MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko returning for his first U.S. fight in over five years against the massive Matt Mitrione.

If one heavyweight attraction with international appeal is a draw, then two is even better, so Bellator has booked a brand new fight for the card with France's own Cheick Kongo facing British star Oli Thompson.

Kongo (25-10-2) has as solid a claim as any fighter in Bellator to the vacant heavyweight title, having won five of his last six fights and seven out of nine overall since joining Bellator back in 2013. A win over Thompson in San Jose would be his fourth victory in a row.

Thompson (17-9), the strongman from East Sussex, will look for redemption against Kongo after being smashed by the aforementioned Mitrione in his Bellator debut. Before that Thompson had reeled off five consecutive wins in 2015.

The updated Bellator 172 card as it stands today is available below.

Bellator 172 "Fedor vs. Mitrione" (Spike TV):

Heavyweight: Fedor Emelianenko (36-4, 1 NC) vs. Matt Mitrione (11-5)
Heavyweight: Cheick Kongo (25-10-2) vs. Oli Thompson (17-9)
Lightweight: Adam Piccolotti (9-0) vs. Brent Primus (7-0)

Bellator 172 "Prelims" Card (Spike.com):

Welterweight: James Terry (18-9) vs. David Douglas (9-6)
Lightweight: Nikko Jackson (1-1) vs. Cesar Gonzalez (0-1)
Featherweight: Juan Cardenas (1-0) vs. Luis Vargas (0-1)
Welterweight: Danasabe Mohammed (5-1) vs. Carlos Rocha (9-4)
Flyweight: Anthony Do (4-1) vs. Bobby Escalante (4-5)
Flyweight: Matt Ramirez (1-2) vs. Jeremy Murphy (3-3)
Lightweight: J.J. Okanovich (3-1) vs. Paradise Vaovasa (5-1)
Featherweight: Justin Tenedora (Debut) vs. Roque Reyes (0-3)

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