Tag: Bellator 252

Bellator free fight: Patricio Freire knocks out Pedro Carvalho in grand prix quarterfinal

Bellator dual-champ Patricio Freire made quick work of Pedro Carvalho to advance to the featherweight grand prix semifinals.

Bellator dual-champ [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] cruised to the featherweight grand prix semifinals.

Freire (31-4 MMA, 19-4 BMMA) put his featherweight title on the line against Pedro Carvalho in the grand prix quarterfinal at Bellator 252, which took place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

It didn’t take long for “Pitbull” to prove why he’s the champion, making quick work of Carvalho. With Carvalho pressing forward, Freire fired back with hard low kicks, looking to time the perfect counter shot. Freire eventually connected with a short right, but Carvalho weathered the storm. However, Freire proved to be too precise and sat Carvalho down with a big right hand just moments after, ending the fight in Round 1.

With the win, “Pitbull” moved on to the semifinals and will meet [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] in the Bellator 255 main event on April 2, a rematch of their November 2018 bout which Freire won by unanimous decision.

Before Freire rematches Sanchez (20-4 MMA, 12-3 BMMA), relive his finish over Carvalho in the video above.

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MMA rankings report: Did Patricio Freire, Rafael dos Anjos make big moves?

What happened at featherweight and lightweight after big performances in Bellator and the UFC?

The MMA rankings report is back with a look at moves after Bellator 252 and UFC Fight Night 182.

Bellator 252 featured the return of the featherweight tournament and champion Patricio Freire. UFC Fight Night 182 had a former lightweight champion atop the card.

Freire starched Pedro Carvalho in the Bellator 252 main event – and had some room to move up at featherweight. In the UFC, Rafael dos Anjos returned to lightweight after a stint at welterweight and was dominant against Paul Felder. So where does he fall now at 155 pounds after we move him from 170?

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan and “Gorgeous” George Garcia walk you through those divisions and more in the latest edition of the rankings report.

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Lucas Brennan talks progression as fighter, breaks down Bellator 252 win over Andrew Salas

Lucas Brennan spoke to reporters following his unanimous decision win over Andrew Salas at Bellator 252.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Lucas Brennan[/autotag] went the distance for the first time in his pro career when he defeated Andrew Salas by unanimous decision at Bellator 252 on Thursday.

The undefeated 20-year-old spoke to reporters on Salas’ durability, gaining experience from logging the full 15 minutes, evolving as a fighter, and more.

You can watch the full interview in the video above.

Bellator 252 took place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card aired on CBS Sports Network/DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Trevor Gudde on Bellator 252 TKO of Khonry Gracie: ‘I was here to steal all his fame’

Trevor Gudde knocked out Khonry Gracie, the son of Royce Gracie, on the anniversary of UFC 1, which is exactly what he set out to do.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Trevor Gudde[/autotag] defeated Khonry Gracie by third-round TKO on Thursday night in his promotional debut at Bellator 252. A hard knee to the face spelled the end for the son of UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie.

Afterward, Gudde (2-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) discussed how the fight played out, his hope for Bellator keeping him around after an impressive win, ruining the anniversary of UFC 1 for the Gracie family, what it’s like being a 6-foot-7 welterweight, and more.

You can watch his full post-fight media session in the video above.

Bellator 252 took place at Mohegan Sun Arena and aired on CBS Sports Network following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

Manny Muro looking to solidify himself on Bellator roster, fight more frequently

Manny Muro spoke to reporters following his unanimous decision win over Devin Powell at Bellator 252.

[autotag]Manny Muro[/autotag] extended his winning streak to three when he defeated Devin Powell by unanimous decision at Bellator 252 on Thursday.

Following his win, Muro (12-6 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) spoke to reporters on wanting to fight more frequently, making a run for the title, what it means to represent Native Americans, and more.

You can watch the full interview in the video above.

Bellator 252 took place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card aired on CBS Sports Network/DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Scott Coker keeping options open for next Bellator tournament, hasn’t settled on women’s flyweight yet

Scott Coker sees various options for the next Bellator grand prix.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Scott Coker sees various options for the next Bellator grand prix.

With the featherweight tournament back under way, the Bellator president has exercised possibilities for what’s next and it may not be what he’s hinted at in the past.

Coker has expressed interest in a potential women’s flyweight tournament multiple times, but he’d like to see how the 125-pound title fight between champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Juliana Velasquez at Bellator 254 pans out before making a decision.

He said bantamweight and light heavyweight also are in the running.

“That’s not guaranteed yet,” Coker told MMA Junkie following the post-fight news conference. “When I look at our weight classes, now I think about our 135-pound weight class – we just added a bunch of killer fighters on there. And I think about the female 125-pound weight class, and maybe we’ll reserve judgment to see what happens on Dec. 10 when Ilima fights Velasquez – see how that fight goes and see what the outcome is and how exciting it is and that sort of thing. So to me, we have three or four weight classes that we can bring into a tournament.

“To me, our 205-pound weight class could be a great tournament, as well. If you think about all those great fighters that we have – to me, I always say this: It’s the greatest light heavyweight division on the planet in any league. So to me, we have several choices and we’re going to sit down with our internal executive group and we’ll sit down with the networks and we’ll figure it out.”

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Yaroslav Amosov makes case for shot against Douglas Lima after Bellator 252 win

Yaroslav Amosov spoke to reporters following his split decision win over Logan Storley at Bellator 252.

[autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] remained unbeaten when he took the zero out of Logan Storley’s record in a razor-thin decision win at Bellator 252 on Thursday.

After edging out Storley, Amosov (25-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) spoke to reporters on fending off numerous takedown attempts, why he should be next in line for a title shot, how he’d match up against welterweight champion Douglas Lima, and more.

You can watch the full interview in the video above.

Bellator 252 took place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card aired on CBS Sports Network/DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

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After Bellator 252, Patricio Freire declares himself world’s best at 145; Scott Coker agrees

Patricio Freire says he’s the world’s best featherweight, and his promoter agrees.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Bellator CEO Scott Coker agrees with featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag]’s notion – Bellator has the best 145-pound fighter in the world.

After Freire (31-4 MMA, 19-4 BMMA) flattened SBG Ireland product, Pedro Carvalho, with punches 2:10 into Round 1, “Pitbull” proclaimed himself the true featherweight king.

“I’m not the best featherweight in Bellator. I’m the best featherweight in the world,” Freire told MMA Junkie at a post-fight news conference. “No other featherweight has my hands. I’m complete. Now, I have 11 knockouts and 11 submissions. There’s no other featherweight in the world that is as complete as I am.”

When speaking to MMA Junkie following the post-fight news conference, Coker, the Bellator president, echoed his champion’s claims and compared “Pitbull” to a former boxing world champion.

“We are lucky to have him,” Coker said. “He’s been a great fighter for us. He’s been a great ambassador for us. He was here even way before me. I’ll tell you what. I looked back and I saw a lot of his old clips over the last week, just looking around on our YouTube channels and different places. I said, ‘This guy reminds me of a young Roberto Duran’ if we had to put it in a boxing sense, right? He is a young Roberto Duran. He is not afraid of anybody. He’s going to bring it. I think he’s the best. Right now? He’s the best featherweight in the world.”

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With the victory over Carvalho (11-4 MMA, 4-1 BMMA), Freire advances to the Bellator featherweight grand prix semifinal round. He’ll fight [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag], who won earlier on Thursday’s card over Daniel Weichel by unanimous decision.

“I watched (Emmanuel’s) whole fight,” Freire said. “I was warming up for my fight. Sanchez was looking good. He was very dynamic. I like his style (as) I said in the cage. But I’m better than him. He knows that.”

A specific date has not been announced for the Bellator featherweight semifinal between Freire and Sanchez (20-4 MMA, 12-3 BMMA), but Coker gave MMA Junkie a timetable of when fans can expect to see the semifinal and championship rounds happen.

“I’m going to try to get this fight into the cage as soon as we can,” Coker said. “We’d like to do the final sometime in April or May. That would be good timing I think. If we could get this fight to the cage in late January. I think that’d be ideal for us. Then you’d have February and March. April we’d have the final. It’s long overdue. Let’s put it that way.”

Bellator 252 took place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card aired on CBS Sports Network after prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Bellator 252: Scott Coker, Patricio Freire declare No. 1 featherweight status

Bellator boss Scott Coker thinks Patricio Freire is the No. 1 featherweight in the world, and the double champ agrees after Bellator 252.

Bellator boss Scott Coker thinks Patricio Freire is the No. 1 featherweight in the world, and the double champ agrees after Bellator 252.