Bellator 173 has its main event.
Former light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary (11-1) will look to rebound from his title loss to Phil Davis back in November when he meets Chris Fields (11-7-1). Bellator President Scott Coker broke the news to ESPN.
Fields was a member of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 19. While he won his first fight to get into the house, he was eliminated after a unanimous decision loss to Matt Van Buren. “The Housewives’ Choice” wasn’t offered an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) contact.
After leaving TUF, Fields signed on with BAMMA. He was TKO’d by Cheick Kone in 23 seconds.His second bout under the promotion didn’t see a better outcome. Fields was submitted by Christopher Jacquelin. Finally, Fields was able to earn his first professional win since Sept. 2012 when he choked out Dan Konecke.
McGeary has established himself in Bellator. The 205-pounder has fought nine times under the promotion, going 8-1 in that stretch. He took the title from Emanuel Newton back in Feb. 2015. He successfully defended his title against Tito Ortiz with a first round submission via inverted triangle choke. McGeary had no answer for Davis’ wrestling and as a result, he lost his championship.
Bellator 173 will take place inside the SSE Arena in Belfast, Ireland on Feb. 24. The event will be co-promoted with BAMMA. Bellator 169 was also co-promoted with BAMMA. The prelims of the event featured a BAMMA bantamweight title bout between Tom Duquesnoy and Alan Philpott. Duquesnoy choked out his opponent to retain his gold.
The rest of the BAMMA fights on the card were for BAMMA 27. For Bellator 173, the bouts showcased from the European promotion will be for BAMMA 28. That portion of the card will feature a lightweight tilt between former UFC competitors Norman Parke and Paul Redmond. Both men are looking to win their second straight fight.
