Bellator 173 comes to SSE Arena in Belfast, northern Ireland this Friday night (Feb. 24, 2017), featuring former Light Heavyweight champion Liam McGeary — who will take his first fight since losing the title to Phil Davis — against Brett McDermott.
This is the second change of opponent for McGeary this week. He was originally scheduled to face “The Housewives’ Choice” Chris Fields, but that fight fell apart when Fields withdrew with an injury. Vladimir Filipovic (8-2) agreed to take the fight on short notice, but Filipovic was unable to travel to northern Ireland because of visa issues.
Therefore, on even shorter notice “The Spartan” has agreed to replace Filipovic, and this time there should be no visa issues given McDermott hails from England. Bellator indicated there should be “no further changes” to the card. And it’s hard to imagine there could be with both weigh-ins and the fight card itself taking place in the next 48 hours.
If McDermott’s name seems familiar it’s because he was knocked out by “King Mo” Lawal on the inaugural Rizin Fighting Federation card late in 2015. He is a dangerous opponent, though, with six of seven wins via knockout.
To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.