Bellator 172: Ready to Crush This MMA Fan's Hopes

I can't wait until baseball season starts. Once it does, I think I'll have an easier time focusing on baseball card posts. I still haven't had he chance to drive out to my LCS to pick up my jumbo box and the two bonus Silver Packs I have waiting on me, my scanning capability is on again/off again, so I've had to rely on relatively shorter posts that have been focused on other current events. Tonight we keep with that theme.

MMA fans are likely aware that tonight is Bellator 172. Unlike many of their recent fight cards, this one is of interest for two reasons. First, on the undercard, former UFC top contender Josh Koscheck makes his debut for the promotion.

'Kos' has a big mouth and tends to say/do some controversial stuff, but he has been one of my favorite fighters since I watched him on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. That was years ago. He's always been an entertaining fighter and you never know what he might say at a pre or post fight press conference or weigh-in. Tonight, he steps in the cage as a 39 year old who is riding a 5 fight losing streak. As much as I would like to see him pick up a 'W' in his Bellator debut, I just don't see it. Moving on to the other notable attraction tonight:

'The Last Emperor' was, at one time, considered the best fighter in MMA. Since he didn't fight for the UFC, it was a bit more difficult to watch his fights on a regular basis, but once you found them, they were worth the effort. He is one of the few fighters to lay claim to being the best in the world that I actually rooted for. Historically, I have rooted against any fighter tagged with that title. All of the hype came crashing down in mid-2010 when he began a 3 fight losing streak. He has since won his last 5 fights, but the level of competition has been less than impressive. I'd really like to see him pull off a great victory tonight, but he is 40 years old and has not looked good in his last few fights so I think that is unlikely. 

There you have it. Tonight's fight card is setting me up for two huge disappointments. Come 9:00, I'll be watching Spike but I'm sure that two of my favorite fighters are going to suffer the agony of defeat. I suppose disappointment as a fan comes in threes(like so many other things). At least if they both lose, the silver lining would be that what started last month when BJ Penn was destroyed will end tonight. Is it opening day yet? Thanks for reading.

UPDATE

Well this post is shot! Literally a few minutes ago I heard that the main event between Fedor and Matt Mitrione was cancelled due to illness. Guess I didn't have to wait until 9pm for the disappointment to begin...