Tag: Patricky Freire

Patricky Freire: Clay Collard not the most ‘dangerous’ in PFL’s lightweight division

Patricky Freire knows Clay Collard can bring it, but doesn’t believe he’s the most dangerous lightweight in the PFL.

[autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] is days away from his PFL debut, and couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to face new opponents.

At 2024 PFL 2 on April 12 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Freire (25-12 MMA, 0-0 PFL) faces Clay Collard in their first lightweight bouts of the regular season. It will be Freire’s first fight under the PFL banner after the promotion acquired Bellator, where ‘Pitbull’ called home since 2011.

“I fought like close to everybody in Bellator,” Freire told MMA Junkie Radio. “So now it’s different, and now I have new opponents, new challenges. It’s going to be great. I’m very excited to show how ‘Pitbull’ bites.”

Behind his exciting, all-action fight style, Collard (24-12 MMA, 6-4 PFL) has become an attraction during the PFL’s regular and postseasons. Last year he won three straight to reach the championship, but came up short of the title and $1 million prize. Freire is excited to get the opportunity to share the cage with someone like Collard for his first PFL fight since his Bellator days.

“I love the fight against him,” Freire said. “He loves to fight with the hands, me too. He loves to fight like a fireworks, me too. So, it’s going to be great. Don’t blink, guys. I’m very excited to show my power.”

While Freire knows what Collard brings to the table offensively, he doesn’t believe his opponent is the hardest out on this season’s roster.

“No, I don’t think so,” Freire said when asked if Collard is the toughest opponent in the division. “I believe there are more dangerous guys like (Brent) Primus and (Gadzhi Rabadanov). These two guys are very strong guys, very strong fighters. … Let’s see what happens.”

At 38, Freire joining the PFL’s regular season came a surprise to some. The grueling pace of making weight repeatedly over shorter periods of time has turned some of the Bellator veterans away, but Freire is up for the challenge, at least for now.

“I don’t know,” Freire said when asked how much longer he plans to fight.”But now I can do this, I can beat my opponents. I can finish my opponets, so I don’t stop right now. I keep hungry. I’m going to keep fighting this year. I don’t know about next year, but this year, I’m very excited. I’m happy to show my game in PFL.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 2.

MMA Junkie Radio #3452: Guest Patricky Freire, UFC Fight Night 240 review, PFL results, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”


Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,452, the fellas bring on former Bellator champ [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] ahead of his PFL bout against Clay Collard. They also discuss UFC Fight Night 240 and the first week of the PFL’s regular season bouts. Tune in!

Bellator 301 results: Alexander Shabliy pieces up Patricky Pitbull, advances to grand prix final

Methodical violence was created by Alexander Shabliy at Bellator 301, as he put forth a brilliant, bloody performance vs. Patricky Pitbull.

[autotag]Alexander Shabliy[/autotag] put on quite the clinic Friday at Bellator 301 when he defeated former lightweight champion [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] in the semifinal of the promotion’s ongoing grand prix.

The bout served as the main card opener at Wintrust Arena in Chicago and saw Shabliy (24-3 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) win a lopsided (and bloody) unanimous decision over Freire (25-12 MMA, 16-10 BMMA). All three judges scored the fight a clean sweep, at 50-45.

Shabliy was a man on a mission from the opening bell. He landed punches with surgical precision and mixed up his strikes to keep Freire guessing.

Despite his success, Shabliy continued to seek the finish. In Round 3, he landed a barrage that tested Freire’s chin and will. “Pitbull” hung tough, as always, though.

As the fight continued, Freire’s face deteriorated. Blood streamed from below his left eye and from his left ear. Shabliy landed a hard sequence in Round 5, including a wheel kick to the head but Freire did enough to make it to the final bell.

Bellator’s future beyond Friday’s event is uncertain. Should new life be breathed into the promotion and the grand prix continue, the next match for Shabliy is a bit clouded.

With lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov recently testing positive for a prohibited substance, Bellator executive Mike Kogan recently hinted the titleholder will rematch Brent Primus.

Regardless of tournament status, Shabliy extends his winning streak to nine. Other notable wins include Tofiq Musayev and Brent Primus, both of whom Shabliy finished with strikes.

Freire moves to 2-4 in his most recent six outings.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 301 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.

Video: Bellator 301 media day faceoffs feature Yaroslav Amosov, Jason Jackson all buddy-buddy

Check out the faceoffs from Bellator 301 media day in Chicago, where Yaroslav Amosov and Jason Jackson had a friendly encounter.

CHICAGO – Bellator 301 media day took place Wednesday with all 10 main-card fighters in attendance, and MMA Junkie was on the scene for the festivities and faceoffs that ensued at the host hotel.

The main event features welterweight champion [autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] defending his title against [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag]. And in the co-main event, champ [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] and interim champ [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] will meet to unify the bantamweight title.

Three other fights are featured on the main card: A rematch between bantamweight contenders [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] and [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag]; former featherweight champ [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] in a lightweight grand prix alternate bout; and a lightweight grand prix semifinal between [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] and [autotag]Alexander Shabiliy[/autotag].

After each matchup’s fighters fielded questions from reporters, they came together for faceoffs, which you can watch in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 11-17)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Sept. 11-17.

Bellator 301 set for Chicago: 2 title fights, including Sergio Pettis vs. Patchy Mix, grand prix semifinal, grudge rematch

Despite the uncertain times for Bellator MMA, the promotion has booked a big show for Chicago in November.

Despite the uncertain times for Bellator MMA, the promotion continues to book events.

Wednesday, promotion officials informed MMA Junkie that Bellator 301 will take place Nov. 17 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago with two title fights, a tournament fight, and a grudge rematch already scheduled for the main card. The card was first announced on “The MMA Hour.”

In the main event, Bellator welterweight champion [autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] (27-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) defends his title against [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 7-1 BMMA). The co-main event features a highly-anticipated bantamweight unification bout between undisputed champion [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (23-5 MMA, 9-5 BMMA) and interim champion [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA).

The Bellator lightweight grand prix rolls on in the featured bout with a semifinal fight between [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (25-11 MMA, 16-9 BMMA) and [autotag]Alexander Shabliy[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA). Additionally, a bantamweight grudge match will be run back as [autotag]Danny Sabtello[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) gets a home state fight vs. [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA).

The full Bellator 301 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Champion Yaroslav Amosov vs. Jason Jackson – for welterweight title
  • Champion Patchy Mix vs. interim champion Patchy Mix – for bantamweight title unification
  • Patricky Freire vs. Alexander Shabliy
  • Danny Sabatello vs. Raufeon Stots

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 5 p.m. ET)

  • Ali Isaev vs. Daniel James
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Marcelo Golm
  • Justin Gonzales vs. Timur Khizriev
  • Mike Hamel vs. Tim Wilde
  • Sumiko Inaba vs. Denise Kielholtz
  • Islam Mamedov vs. Killys Mota

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Patricky Freire determined to reclaim Bellator lightweight title after Japan win over Roberto de Souza

Patricky Freire has his sights set on reclaiming the Bellator lightweight title after a win in the grand prix in Japan.

[autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] has only one thing on his mind: The Bellator lightweight title.

Now in the semifinals of the Bellator lightweight grand prix, Freire (25-11 MMA, 16-9 BMMA) can see the end goal. Freire, who lost the title to Usman Nurmagomedov in November 2022, defeated Roberto de Souza in the opening round of the grand prix this past Saturday at Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 at Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo.

Freire now will take on Russia’s Alexandr Shabliy in the semifinals looking for a spot in the final and a chance to fight for the belt. He said he thinks he’s ready.

“He’s a very tough athlete,” Freire said when asked about Shabliy at the Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 post-fight press conference. “Everybody knows that the Russian athlete is very tough. But it doesn’t matter who’s in front of me. I’m going to destroy (him). That’s what’s on my mind. I’m going to be champion. That’s the only thing that matters.”

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Freire was happy to not only get a win and advance in the grand prix, but to fight in Japan. It was his fourth fight there and thinks it was his best experience.

“It looks like this time the Japanese fans were happier,” Freire said. “They were more vibrant, and they were yelling, and I really like that. I enjoy that. They give me their energy.”

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Patricio Freire claims Kleber Koike invaded locker room, attacked brother Patricky at Bellator x Rizin 2

Patricio Freire says former rival Kleber Koike attacked his brother Patricky at Bellator x Rizin 2.

It seems [autotag]Kleber Koike Erbst[/autotag] and the “Pitbull” brothers got into an altercation at Bellator x Rizin 2 in Japan.

According to [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag], Koike argued with his brother, [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag], after Patricky defeated Koike’s teammate, Roberto de Souza, by TKO at Saturday’s Bellator x Rizin 2 at Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo.

Patricio alleged Koike also celebrated Patricio’s shocking KO loss to Chihiro Suzuki, then after the event, Koike invaded their locker room to kick Patricky from behind and run off.

Patricio and Koike have history. The two fought at the first Bellator x Rizin event back this past December in a non-title bout. Patricio defeated his fellow Brazilian by unanimous decision. That’s his most recent victory. He now has back-to-back defeats for the first time in his MMA career.

Patricio entered Bellator x Rizin 2 off a decision loss to Sergio Pettis in an attempt to capture the bantamweight title and become the first three-division Bellator champion. The 36-year-old made no excuses for his first-round KO defeat to Suzuki and made it clear he’ll bounce back.

You can watch Patricio’s KO loss in the video below:

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Bellator x Rizin 2 results: Patricky Freire uses vicious leg kick to stop Roberto de Souza in grand prix quarterfinal

Considering Roberto de Souza stepped up on short notice, it was only fitting that Patricky Freire chopped him down for the win.

Considering [autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag] stepped up on short notice, it was only fitting that [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] chopped him down for the win.

In an unexpected Bellator lightweight grand prix quarterfinal, Freire methodically chipped away at de Souza for two rounds before finishing him with a devastating leg kick just 49 seconds into the third round Sunday in the Bellator x Rizin 2 main event at Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo. The fight was made just earlier this week after A.J. McKee was forced to withdraw because of a staph infection.

After a slow first round, Freire started doing some damage in Round 2. First he landed a hard one-two combo that stunned de Souza. In the final minute, Freire dropped de Souza after landing a clean jumping knee. However, Freire didn’t rush in to try and finish de Souza as it appeared he might’ve thought de Souza was trying to lure him into a ground fight.

That seemed like it could’ve been a mistake given how dazed de Souza was in the moment, but the misfire didn’t matter after the horn sounded. In the third round, Freire came out firing and landed the brutal leg kick that instantly dropped de Souza to the canvas. It didn’t take but a few follow-up punches for referee Kerry Hatley to step in and stop the fight.

With the win, Freire (25-11 MMA, 16-9 BMMA) rebounded from losing the 155-pound title to Usman Nurmagomedov last November and moved one step closer to a rematch. Freire will meet Alexander Shabliy in one grand prix semifinal, while Nurmagomedov will defend his title against former champ Brent Primus in the other.

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Patricky Freire def. Roberto de Souza at Bellator x Rizin 2: Best photos

Check out these photos highlighting Patricky Freire’s third-round TKO win over Roberto de Souza at Bellator x Rizin 2.

Check out these photos highlighting [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag]’s third-round TKO win over Roberto de Souza at Bellator x Rizin 2 from Super Saitama Arena near Tokyo. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Noonan, Bellator)