The Bellator featherweight grand prix will roll on with its next title fight.
Bellator 145-pound champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] will defend his belt against [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] in the quarterfinals of the 16-man tournament. Additionally, a quarterfinal matchup between [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel Weichel[/autotag] has also been added to the event.
The matchup is set to take place at Bellator 241, the company announced in a press release Thursday afternoon.
Bellator 241 will take place Friday, March 13 at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. The main card is expected to stream on DAZN after prelims on MMA Junkie.
As part of the Bellator 228 broadcast in September, the fighters who advanced to the second round of the tournament partook in a live draft. After the first seven participants selected their respective opponents and dates via a live lottery, Freire (30-4 MMA, 18-4 BMMA), who also holds the featherweight title, entered the fray.
Due to a surprise “champion’s choice,” Freire, who also holds the Bellator lightweight title, was able to place himself anywhere on the board. After some thought, the longtime Bellator staple decided to take on Carvalho (11-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) in March.
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While SBG Ireland’s Carvalho seemed happy about the selection, Bellator president Scott Coker was not. In an unusually critical manner, Coker voiced his displeasure with Freire choosing Carvalho over rival Darrion Caldwell.
“My only thought was that when ‘Pitbull’ had the shot, I thought he was going to fight “D.C.,'” Coker said. “I thought he wanted him really bad. It went the other way, so now we have some interesting fights on both sides. If you keep winning, you’ll fight each other anyway at the end. So it’s going to be fine.”
In the opening round, Freire defeated Juan Archuleta by five-round unanimous decision at Bellator 228 in Inglewood, Calif. The victory marked Freire’s fifth straight. The streak also includes his lightweight title-clinching knockout of Michael Chandler.
Carvalho has yet to lose inside the Bellator cage. The Portugal-born fighter has won six fights in a row, including a submission victory over Sam Sicilia in the opening round of the tournament at Bellator 226 in September.
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Sanchez (19-4 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) and Weichel (40-11 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) were originally slated to fight on a February card to be announced, but instead will fight in March.
In the first round of the tournament, Sanchez submitted Tywan Claxton by second-round triangle choke at Bellator 226, whereas Weichel defeated Saul Rogers by unanimous decision at Bellator 228.
No additional bouts have been announced at this time.
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