Bellator 172 results and highlights: Patricky Pitbull knocks out Josh Thomson

San Jose, California was the scene for Bellator 172: Fedor vs. Mitrione, minus the whole Fedor/Mitrione part, as 4 out of 5 bouts ended with a finish. The bumped up main event saw Josh Thomson fall victim, in front of his home crowd, to a fierce Patricky Freireuppercut that shut out his lights. The co-main event on the night saw Cheick Kongo utilize his clinch knees and ground and pound to pick up a unanimous decision victory over Oli Thompson.

Main Card:

Patricky Freire def. Josh Thomson by KO at :40 of round 2: Lightweight

Thomson played the outside game to start the fight, as Patricky Pitbull worked his leg kicks. A lot of measuring was taking place, but it was Pitbull who drew first blood with a monstrous right hand that flung Thomson to the turf. Pitbull looked to follow up with ground strikes, but Thomson remained safe, and made it back up to his feet. Thomson seemed to recover, but clearly gave up the opening round to Pitbull.

The second round saw an accidental clash of heads that sent Thompson crashing to the canvas. Pitbull allowed his opponent to return to his feet, but only to force feed him a devastating uppercut that sent Thomson back down to the ground. Two hammerfists later, and Patricky Freire added another KO to his résumé.

Watch Patricky “Pitbull” Freire stick it to Josh Thomson in San Jose:

Cheick Kongo def. Oli Thompson by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-25 x2): Heavyweight

Thompson took the center of the cage as Kongo showed ample respect for the power of his opponent. As Kongo became more comfortable, he began to pump his jab. Some heavy punches from Thompson urged Kongo to clinch, but it was Kongo’s back who landed against the fence. A ball shot from Kongo caused a halt to the action, and when time-in was called, Kongo wasted no time in getting a takedown. Kongo found wild success in the clinch in the closing moments of the opening round, as he rapidly fired knees to the head and body of his opponent.

A big overhand right was the entry point to the clinch for Thompson to start the second round. Thompson controlled his opponent in the clinch, at least for a bit, but ultimately was reversed, resulting in a Kongo takedown. Big elbows rained down upon the skull of Thompson as Kongo took full advantage of the top position.

Kongo returned to his brutal clinch knees to open the third round, which seemed to be the catalyst for Thompson relinquishing the takedown. Kongo wasted no time in moving to full mount, looking to unleash leather from the top. Thompson was able to gain half guard, but Kongo saw it as an opportunity to posture up and beat down on the Brit. Kongo shifted back into full mount, and chipped away with short elbows before the sounding of the final bell.

Anatoly Tokov def. Francisco France by TKO at 2:24 of round 2: Middleweight

France came out and took the center of the Bellator cage, before Tokov was able to close the distance and achieve the takedown. It was France, however, who was threatening off of his back with submissions, such as a triangle choke that was masterfully transitioned to from a belly-down arm bar. Tokov managed to hang tough and escape the choke hold, before finishing the round on the feet.

Tokov continued to work for control as he engaged into the clinch in the second stanza. Following a blatant kick to the jewels by Tokov, the action was halted by the referee in order to give France a chance to recover. When the action resumed, France quickly found himself on his back with Tokov on top. A short, yet hearty right hand had France covering up, and a few more unanswered rights from Tokov gave the official no choice but to step in and stop the fight.

Veta Arteaga def. Brooke Mayo by TKO (Eye Injury) at 4:04 of round 3: Flyweight

Mayo opened with a lot of movement, throwing long front kicks. Arteaga found herself up against the cage, being assaulted with knees to the body. Arteaga gave up the takedown, and Mayo immediately transitioned to the back, looking for the RNC in the process. Arteaga made her escape from a failed armbar attempt and began to drop hammers from the top. They returned to their feet and Arteaga let her hands fly, before Mayo found the clinch position against the cage. A clash of heads during a flurry caused a significant cut over the left eye of Arteaga, prompting the referee to have the doctor take a look. Action resumed and the flyweights stood and traded for the remaining moments of round 1.

The second frame saw Mayo staying more at range, using her footwork to avoid the power of Arteaga. Mayo closed the distance, and was able to drag her opponent to the mat, where she instantly hunted for submissions. Mayo willfully gave up top position, allowing Arteaga an opportunity to make it back to the feet. before the round expired.

Arteaga started the third round by leaping in, looking to move inside of the reach of Mayo to land heavy leather. Several clean punches landed for Arteaga, prompting a successful reactive takedown from Mayo. When the flyweights returned to their feet, the referee paused the action to have the doctor take a look at the severe swelling around the left eye of Mayo. In the name of fighter’s safety, the bout was called off, and Arteaga picked up the TKO victory, moving to 2-1 under the Bellator promotion.

Check Brooke Mayo on the business end of Veta Arteaga’s naked kick counter cross:

Mauricio Alonso def. Josh Koscheck by TKO at 4:42 of round 1: Welterweight

Koscheck immediately rushed in on Alonso, backing up his foe to the cage, but was unable to launch any significant offense from the position. Alonso stood his ground and worked his boxing combinations as Koscheck found himself standing in range of his taller opponent’s punches. Alonso began to find success with his jab, before a straight right hand to the eye socket wobbled Koscheck. Koscheck began to retreat, putting his back to the fence, but a well placed Alonso uppercut struck the jaw sent Koscheck crashing to the canvas. Following a few ground strikes, the referee stepped in and rescued Koscheck.

Prelims:

Nikko Jackson def. Cesar Gonzalez by unanimous decision: Lightweight

J.J. Okanovich def. Zach Andrews by submission (RNC): Lightweight

James Terry def. J.C. Llamas by decision (Technical): Welterweight

Gaston Bolanos def. Abner Perez by (T)KO Featherweight

Martin Sano tied wit Diego Herzog in a majority draw: Middleweight

Justin Tenedora def. Roque Reyes by submission: Featherweight