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UFC and Bellator both ran shows on Saturday, but which organization had the better night?
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 211 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and Bellator 286 at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, Calif.? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Patricio Freire does’t care about the criticism of his title defense.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] got the job done, and that’s all it matters to him.
The featherweight champion successfully defended his belt Saturday in the main event of Bellator 286. Freire (34-5 MMA, 22-5 BMMA) defeated Adam Borics in a comfortable unanimous decision. But despite being the clear winner, Freire did leave the arena with some criticism.
Fans at the event booed the action and demanded more from “Pitbull.” Freire was aware of the discontent in the crowd, but paid it no mind.
“People sometimes want to see a street fight like A.J. McKee and that guy, Spike (Carlyle),” Freire told reporters at the Bellator 286 post-fight press conference. “That’s amazing, but it’s like a bar brawl. I’m a fighter. I’m technical. I’m going to take my opponent in the right moment. I’m not going to commit a mistake like that and get tired like a street fight.
“I’m professional, and I don’t care about that. I just told everyone, ‘F*ck you, man.’ I don’t care about that.”
Not only is the 35-year-old not bothered by the crowd response on Saturday night, he also warns people to not expect him catering to the crowd in the future. Freire is out to defend his belt any means necessary.
“People want to see, like, a crazy fight, but I’m not that guy anymore that’s going to listen to everyone, go forward and make mistakes,” Freire said. “I’m going to be focused on the fight and keep doing the strategy. I don’t care. I want the victory. I was victorious tonight, and that’s all that matters.”
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Freire knew he had to fight calculated and be very careful going into Bellator 286 given Borics’ strengths.
“That’s what I was expecting,” Freire said. “He’s very good, very calm, and I was just trying to see the right moment to act. So that’s what happened during the fight. I’m always looking for the right moment, the right timing. That’s it.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 286.
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Patricio Freire added to his records for most wins and title-fight victories in Bellator history with a dominant defense at Bellator 286.
The final stretch of Bellator’s 2022 schedule kicked off Saturday with Bellator 286, which took place at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, Calif., and featured a 13-fight lineup.
The main event saw the most decorated fighter in company history further enhance his legacy when [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (34-5 MMA, 22-5 BMMA) cruised to a lopsided unanimous decision over [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) to defend his featherweight title for the first time in what’s his third title reign in the division.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 286.
After his Bellator 286 win, A.J. McKee turned his attention to Patricio Freire and expressed uncomfortableness with a 1-1 lifetime series.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] passed the test that was his lightweight debut, but perhaps is reversing course once again.
At Bellator 286, McKee (19-1 MMA, 19-1 BMMA) defeated Spike Carlyle (14-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) in a frantic brawl-turned-grappling-match, which he won by unanimous decision (29-26, 30-26, 30-27).
“It was a fun fight. I enjoyed it,” McKee told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “He was a bit bigger, a bit stronger. I tried to get a little (suplex) in there and I couldn’t get his feet off the ground. I was like, ‘Oh, this is a big boy.’ It’s just little things like that. I think in due time (I’ll be better at 155) – letting my body get acclimated, walking around 170-175.”
McKee’s move to lightweight came after his first professional loss, a unanimous decision defeat to featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] in April. The bout was a rematch of their July 2021 bout, which McKee won by submission in Round 1.
With the series at one win apiece, the indication from the promotion was a trilogy was imminent. McKee ultimately decided to move to lightweight, but now appears to be angling for the matchup once again.
“I need need to know if this ‘pocket pit’ wants to fight for his legacy or not,” McKee said. “Like I’ve always said, I’m willing to. I’m willing to. I think it’s good for my legacy, for his legacy. We can’t end the game 1-and-1. We need to find out.”
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Freire headlined Bellator 286 and defeated Adam Borics by unanimous decision. Despite a largely one-sided showing, McKee said he wasn’t really impressed with Freire.
“Not really, man,” McKee said. “Not really. No. Great fight. Cool. Borics, I was more impressed with Borics, I would say. … It was his first five five-(minute rounds). Anybody that goes through their first five fives, you learn a lot about somebody, especially yourself. It’s different to fight five fives. That’s why I enjoyed fighting five fives with Patricio. If we fight again, it won’t be five fives.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 286.
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Scott Coker wants to book a rematch between Aaron Pico and Jeremy Kennedy after injury halted their Bellator 286 bout.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Bellator president [autotag]Scott Coker[/autotag] gave a positive update on [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag]’s health in the aftermath of a disappointing end at Bellator 286.
Pico (10-4 MMA, 10-4 BMMA) suffered a dislocated shoulder in the opening round of his featherweight fight with Jeremy Kennedy (18-3 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) on Saturday at Long Beach Arena, forcing the fight to be waved off by the cageside physician and resulting in an injury TKO loss.
Coker arrived at the post-fight press conference fearing the worst, but before he left his session with reporters he got an update directly from Pico about the state of his injury.
“It’s not broken,” Coker told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “He has to see a specialist Tuesday. Wants a rematch right away, and he’s in a good spirits.”
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Coker said he’s very much open to the idea of running back the fight between Pico and Kennedy in order to get a more conclusive end. However, he said it’s all going to come down to the timing once Pico’s recovery timeline becomes more clear.
“I’d like to run that one back for sure,” Coker said. “I’m sure Aaron would, too. But we’ll see. This puts Jeremy in a different position now. Now he can advance forward. Let’s see when he’s ready. He might be ready way before Aaron’s ready.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 286.
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Check out these photos highlighting A.J. McKee’s unanimous decision win over Spike Carlyle at Bellator 286.
Check out these photos highlighting [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over Spike Carlyle at Bellator 286 from Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, Calif. (Photos by Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA)
Check out these photos highlighting Jeremy Kennedy’s injury TKO win over Aaron Pico at Bellator 286.
Check out these photos highlighting [autotag]Jeremy Kennedy[/autotag]’s injury TKO win over Aaron Pico at Bellator 286 from Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, Calif. (Photos by Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA)
The fans booed as the Bellator 286 main event came to an end – just as they did when it started.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Not a single round of the Bellator 286 main event was complete Saturday night without significant boos from the crowd at Long Beach Arena.
That’s how lackluster the title fight was between featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] and [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag]. In the end, Freire did more to earn a unanimous decision win from the judges, with scores of 48-47, 49-46, and 50-45.
From the start, neither Freire (34-5 MMA, 22-5 BMMA) nor Borics (18-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) was willing to take many risks as both men felt each other out in the early going of Round 1 – and that continued with each subsequent round.
Freire managed to find success taking the fight to the mat in the first three rounds, which gave him the edge in control time. Beyond that, the champ’s most effective weapon was his counter-left hook, which caused a small cut over Borics’ eyebrow in Round 2.
With Freire up on the scorecards heading into Round 5, Borics finally tried to push the action and threw a wild flying knee that missed without about 3 minutes remaining. The result was Borics falling to the mat, Freire taking his back and ending up as a backpack as Borics walked around the cage not making much effort to break free – the second time it happened in the fight. Finally, with 1:40 remaining, Borics managed to reverse the position and took down Freire from the clinch. Borics controlled the rest of the round until Freire locked in a standing Kimura before the bell rang.
The fans booed as the fight came to an end – just as they did when it started.
For Freire, the win was his 12th in a Bellator championship fight, which is a promotional record. Borics, meanwhile, had his four-fight winning streak snapped.
Complete Bellator 286 results:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 286.
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Bellator 286 is in the books. Patricio Freire, Jeremy Kennedy, and four others made six-figures in disclosed pay. Check out the full list.
Twenty-six fighters competed Saturday at Bellator 286, but no one walked away with a higher disclosed purse than champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag].
California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster released a full list of fighter payouts Saturday to MMA Junkie.
One of six fighters who pocketed six-figure disclosed paydays, Freire topped the list with $150,000 for his win over [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag]. Former UFC fighter [autotag]Jeremy Kennedy[/autotag] made the second most, as he took home $110,000 for his win over Aaron Pico.
Former Bellator featherweight champion [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag], headlining title challenger [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag], rising star [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag], and former Bellator bantamweight champion [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] also took home six figures.
Scroll below to see what the 26 fighters on Bellator 286 were paid. The amounts reflect the disclosed payouts only and do not include any off-contract bonuses, sponsor payments, or discretionary bonuses.
See the top Twitter reactions to Patricio Freire’s featherweight title defense over Adam Borics at Bellator 286.
[autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] further added to his legacy as Bellator’s greatest fighter with the first defense of his third featherweight title reign on Saturday at Bellator 286.
“Pitbull” Freire (34-5 MMA, 22-5 BMMA) defeated challenger [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) by unanimous decision in their headlining bout at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, Calif., adding to his plethora of records under the Bellator banner.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Freire’s victory over Borics at Bellator 286
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