Josh Koscheck’s return to active competition is now official.
Tomorrow night (Feb. 18) inside the SAP Center in San Jose, California, Koscheck will battle Mauricio Alonso in the expected main card opener of Bellator 172. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight tipped the scales earlier today and was on target.
Koscheck did have to undergo additional medical testing in order to be licensed in the state of California. MMAFighting.com confirmed the 170-pounder wasn’t cleared to compete until this morning. You can read what California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive officer Andy Foster had to say on the matter below:
“The Commission requested additional information to support his license application. We received that information yesterday and it was thoroughly reviewed.”
The Dethrone Base Camp fighter is competing for the first time since March 2015. “Kos” was submitted via guillotine choke by Erick Silva. It was Koscheck’s fifth straight defeat. He hasn’t emerged victorious since Feb. 2012.
His opponent has won two straight bouts. Alonso had gone 1-2 with one no contest before defeating Mike Persons by unanimous decision. He then went on to beat Justin Baesman back in Aug. 2016. This will be Alonso’s Bellator debut.
The main event of Bellator 172 features the return of Fedor Emelianenko on U.S. soil. His opponent will be former UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione. The co-main event will be former Strikeforce lightweight title holder Josh Thomson battling Patricky Freire.
Also on the card will be another former UFC fighter. Cheick Kongo will meet Oli Thompson. Kongo is riding a three-fight winning streak and would like to extend it to four. Thompson wants to rebound from his TKO loss to Mitrione back in July 2016 at Bellator 158.
Also featured on the card will be women’s flyweight action. Sharing the Bellator cage will be Veta Arteaga and Brooke Mayo. The main card airs live on Spike at 9 p.m. ET.
