Breaking: Matt Mitrione vs. Fedor Emelianenko Cancelled

Nobody saw this one coming.

The highly-anticipated Bellator 172 main event between Matt Mitrione and Fedor Emelianenko has been called off according to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani. The report suggests an illness to Mitrione to be the culprit for the bout’s scrapping:

Fedor vs. Mitrione is canceled, per sources. I'm told Mitrione fell ill. More coming coming shortly to @MMAFighting.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 18, 2017

According to the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) fans are eligible for a full refund, however, they must do so before the event starts (which as of this writing is in 45 minutes):

According to the CSAC, fans are eligible to get a full refund due to the main event cancellation but must do so before the event starts.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 18, 2017

Emelianenko was set to make a huge debut under the Bellator banner when he took on Mitrione, a former UFC vet who signed with Bellator early last year after his contract with the UFC expired. After a two-fight knockout streak Mitrione was looking to get the biggest win of his career against the Russian heavyweight legend Emelianenko tonight (Sat. February 18, 2017), but alas it was not to be.

‘The Last Emperor’ has been on a five-fight win streak since his last career loss to Dan Henderson back July of 2007 in Strikefoce. Emelianenko’s most recent victory was a highly controversial majority decision win over Fabio Maldonado in June of 2016, after many believed the Russian clearly lost that fight.

It appears as though we’ll have to wait for the heavyweight legend to make his major promotional debut in North America after Mitrione’s illness. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…