Bellator MMA lightweight contender Patricky “Pitbull” Freire is fresh off another win, as well as a brand new contract extension.
Patricky won a split decision over England’s Ryan Scope earlier this month at Bellator: Newcastle, extending his streak to five. It figured to be a matchup that favored the Brazilian striker heavily, but after nearly putting Scope away in round one, it proved to be a difficult bout for Freire, made even harder after suffering a hand injury.
“He was a just bit tougher than I expected,” Freire said to Bloody Elbow. “I was surprised he recovered from that knee in the first round. But if I was able to use my hand properly I would’ve finished him later. It really impacted my performance. I wasn’t able to grab him correctly to execute my takedowns, which led to him defending the one in the last round and I had trouble defending myself after because of it. I couldn’t even tie my shoes alone. Now imagine punching and putting power behind it during 15 minutes. I had to pick my shots and it hurt my strategy.”
While other victories over the likes of Josh Thomson, Benson Henderson, and Derek Campos would figure to be enough to get him a third bout against reigning Bellator lightweight king Michael Chandler, but the next title shot will instead go to his brother, featherweight champion Patricio Freire.
So what happens if Patricio knocks off Chandler to become a two-division champion? Patricky revealed that he might move down to 145 if his brother wins the 155 belt and wants to defend that title instead.
“It’s most likely that he’ll vacate after a win,” Patricky said. “If he enjoys being at LW and decides to stay here for new fights, though, I’ll go after the FW belt. If Patricio doesn’t win, which I don’t see happening, it only makes sense to have me fighting next. But the end result doesn’t matter regarding me fighting Chandler again. That will happen even after Patricio destroys him. I want that fight and Chandler will have no say in it.”
As for his prediction? Well you obviously didn’t expect him to pick against his brother, but here’s how long he sees the fight lasting.
“Patricio will dominate him in every area and knock him out before the 4th round.”
While Patricky awaits his next fight, Patricio’s champ vs. champ showdown with Chandler headlines Bellator 221 on May 11th in Rosemont, Illinois.