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November 26, 2023 5:00 pm ET
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Arguably the best fighter in Bellator history, Patricio Freire has seen it all in the promotion.
“Pitbull” Freire debuted for Bellator in 2010 when the promotion was in its infancy running a season format. He was the first simultaneous two-division champion in Bellator history (featherweight, lightweight) and is the current 145-pound champion.
But along with the rest of Bellator’s robust roster, he’s been enduring some uncertainty about the promotion’s future. This past week, it was announced the PFL purchased Bellator, and champion-vs.-champion fights have been promised for 2024.
Freire was cageside to see Jesus Pinedo pick up a TKO win over Gabriel Braga on Friday to win the PFL’s 2023 featherweight season and $1 million. Now, presumably, he’ll fight “Pitbull” next. Freire was brought into the cage to for a faceoff with Pinedo after the win.
“(His performance) was great,” Freire told MMA Junkie backstage at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., moments after Pinedo’s win. “… I’m going to face a new opponent, and he’s good. It will be a great (fight for) me. … He was trying to bark louder than me (in the faceoff), but he’s not going to be able to do that (in the fight).”
Freire said he had mixed emotions about the PFL’s purchase of Bellator. After all, it’s the end of one era in the sport’s short history, and he was on board for the vast majority of it.
At 35, Freire likely still has plenty of time left in the sport, and now he’s setting his sights on a PFL belt.
“(I was) a little bit sad, a little bit happy – everything,” Freire said. “Let’s see what’s going to happen. I’m here. I believe the good point is we’re going to make history. We’re going to make a lot of crossover (MMA history), that I was asking for all the time. I fought against the Rizin champion and I beat him. Now I have the chance to fight against the PFL champ, so it’s a good thing.”
Freie currently is without a victory since New Year’s Eve 2022 in Japan in that aforementioned Rizin win over Kleber Koike Erbst. In June, he dropped to bantamweight to challenge Sergio Pettis for the title, but lost a split decision. Six weeks later, he was knocked out by Chihiro Suzuki in a Rizin crossover fight in Japan, which gave him the first skid of his career.
He’s on the mend from an arm injury, but said he’s got the go-ahead to get back to work and anticipates a fight against Pinedo in the first few months of 2024.
“I talked to (PFL owner) Donn Davis, and he was very happy,” Freire said. “Me too. I was very happy (with our conversation). His words made me feel good and comfortable, and I believe it’s going to be a great relationship.
“I have three months of recovery so far. I still don’t have the full strength in my left arm, but I’m getting better every day, so from here to the day I’m going to be fighting, I’m going to be 100 percent. The doctor said, ‘Hey, you are 100 percent recovered. Go ahead – go do your job.’”
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