Josh Thomson’s next fight won’t be a championship showdown with Bellator lightweight titleholder Michael Chandler.

Instead, Thomson (22-8 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) will face off with another 155-pound contender in Patricky Freire (16-8 MMA, 9-7 BMMA) in next month’s Bellator 172 co-main event. The card is headlined by a heavyweight bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione.

The matchup was announced on tonight’s Bellator 171 broadcast on Spike.

Bellator 172 takes place Feb. 18 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Thomson, a former Strikeforce lightweight champion and seven-fight UFC veteran, has not competed since a second-round TKO of Pablo Villaseca at Bellator 147 in December 2015. The fight marked Thomson’s second appearance under the Bellator banner after he signed with the promotion in mid-2015 after parting ways with the UFC.

“The Punk” was specifically named as a desired next opponent by divisional kingpin Chandler, but it appears that wasn’t the fight to make at this time. If Thomson can win again and improve to 3-0 under the Bellator banner, few fights outside a title shot would make sense.

Freire, meanwhile, will try to climb back into title contention after he was on the receiving end of a highlight-reel “Knockout of the Year” candidate at the hands of Chandler at Bellator 157 in June.

“Pitbull” fell short of capturing the then-vacant 155-pound belt from Chandler at the event, but can get right back into the discussion for another chance at the gold if he’s able to defeat an established veteran like Thomson.

With the co-main event addition, the Bellator 172 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (MMAjunkie, 9 p.m. ET)

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Mitrione Patricky Freire vs. Josh Thomson Cheick Kongo vs. Oli Thompson Adam Piccolotti vs. Brent Primus

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie, 7 p.m. ET)

David Douglas vs. James Terry Cesar Gonzalez vs. Nikko Jackson Juan Cardenas vs. Luis Vargas Carlos Eduardo Rocha vs. Danasabe Mohammed Anthony Do vs. Bobby Escalante Jeremy Murphy vs. Matthew Ramirez J.J. Okanovich vs. Paradise Vaovasa Roque Reyes vs. Justin Tenedora

For more on Bellator 172, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.