Bellator returns for Bellator 241, as the promotion’s featherweight grand prix continues with the third and fourth quarterfinal matchups.
The featherweight title will be on the line as two-division champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] takes on Dublin-based Portuguese contender [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] in the main event, while the identity of the next man to challenge for the title will be decided in the night’s other quarterfinal, as Bellator mainstays [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel Weichel[/autotag] go head to head in a battle between two featherweight veterans.
The fight card also features a host of familiar names as Bellator matchmaker Rich Chou has stacked the deck for the latest numbered event on Bellator’s packed 2020 schedule.
Bellator 241 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Without further ado, here are five burning questions heading into Bellator 241.
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Can Pedro Carvalho upset the applecart and snatch the title from ‘Pitbull?’
Freire has been fighting in Bellator for almost a decade, and the Brazilian two-division champ is at the peak of his career heading into Bellator 241. Victory for “Pitbull” will see him through to the semifinals of the featherweight grand prix but, more importantly, will also see him retain his 145-pound title.
Freire hasn’t lost since a decision to Daniel Straus five years ago – a result he subsequently avenged – and has looked superb in his two most recent appearances as he stunned Michael Chandler to capture the lightweight belt, then defended his featherweight strap from surging contender Juan Archuleta in the first round of the grand prix.
Now he faces a new challenge in the form of Pedro Carvalho, who arrives in the quarterfinals with an air of unshakable confidence following his arrival in Bellator in 2018.
First he sprung a surprise on his promotional debut by defeating the fancied English prospect Daniel Crawford, then followed up with a 43-second submission of Italian Luca Vitale. That win pushed him into Bellator’s top bracket 145-pound fighters, and a 123-second TKO finish of seasoned veteran Derek Campos served as a statement of intent. It earned him a spot in the featherweight grand prix, where a second-round face-crank finish of another gritty veteran, Sam Sicilia, propelled him into the last eight of the tournament.
After initially matching himself against former bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell in the quarterfinals, Carvalho was then thrust into a title fight when Freire used his “champion’s choice” to shake things up and place himself in the final quarterfinal matchup, against the Portuguese contender.
Most are picking “Pitbull” to prevail, but Carvalho is adamant that he is the man to dethrone him, having told MMA Junkie in the lead-up to the fight that he wouldn’t just beat Freire, he would finish him.
“I’m going to be the first guy to finish him. I doubt he passes the second round.” Those were his words.
Will he make good on that promise, or will Freire march on to the semifinals with his title still intact?