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De Fries
Credit: Bellator MMA/Twitter

You didn’t read that title wrong. Phil De Fries, hailing from Sunderland, squared off against an English heavyweight legend and perhaps the most intimidating heavyweight fighter in the UK, James Thompson.

A classic case of striker vs. wrestler had fans incredibly intrigued as to how the fight would play out. De Fries, a submission specialist with 10 of his 12 wins by submission against Thompson with 11 knockouts in 20 wins.

Thompson came out swinging early and narrowly missed a brutal right hand to the head of De Fries. The North-Easterner countered this in the only way he knew – a takedown.

After keeping Thompson pinned down to the floor for the best part of a minute, ‘Colossus’ worked his way into a positive position. However, De Fries pulled off a miraculous guillotine to claim victory, stunning both Thompson and the Newcastle faithful.

Speaking backstage to Phil, he went on to mention how he got double the money for the fight, thus producing the quote of the night in the process…

“Me and James, we’ve spoken in the past a few times, but now I’ve got double money, and I’d punch a dolphin for double money.”

De Fries, who is a fan favourite due to his calm, collected, yet humorous personality, has his eyes set on big things for 2018, as he closes 2017 out in perfect fashion.

“I will fight anyone. There might be someone that drops out of the Grand Prix so we’ll see what they say, I really like Bellator, I wanna stick with Bellator. With the right offer, the right money, I’ll fight anyone, anytime.”