Bellator featherweight contender Pedro Carvalho tells MMA Junkie’s Simon Head about missing out on the biggest opportunity of his career, but vows he’ll be ready when that fight is rebooked following the coronavirus lockdown.
Bellator featherweight contender Pedro Carvalho tells MMA Junkie’s Simon Head about missing out on the biggest opportunity of his career, but vows he’ll be ready when that fight is rebooked following the coronavirus lockdown.
Main event stars Patricio Freire and Pedro Carvalho both praised the promotion for their handling of the Bellator 241 postponement in Uncasville, Conn.
[autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] and [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] should have met inside the Bellator cage by now, but matters above and beyond their control meant the two featherweight rivals were left frustrated as Bellator 241 was postponed just hours before they were due to fight.
The decision was taken after coronavirus concerns escalated ahead of the planned event in Uncasville, Conn., on Friday night. Bellator officials confirmed the postponement with MMA Junkie following an initial report by Fightful.com, and president Scott Coker subsequently announced the postponement via social media.
It was an unprecedented situation for the promotion – and its fighters – to deal with and, after the dust had settled on a frustrating night, the two main event stars told MMA Junkie that they believed Bellator had made the right move.
“As far as I know, at the moment Bellator is taking care of their athletes’ health,” said Carvalho (11-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), who was set to challenge for the featherweight title in his first Bellator main event. “They’re making a point to not put our health at risk. I agree with that, 100 percent. When I found the card was off, I was devastated, but now I’ve cooled off. I’m very happy to see this action and the care that Bellator has for us.”
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Reigning two-division champion Freire (30-4 MMA, 18-4 BMMA) was similarly upset to begin with, but on reflection said he was in agreement with his opposite number.
“Unfortunately, with this coronavirus problem, it was not possible to carry out the event,” Freire said. “It’s frustrating, but Bellator did the right thing. I know it wasn’t an easy decision.”
While the event, itself, did not go ahead, Bellator confirmed that they would pay all of the fighters on the card who had made weight for their respective bouts on Thursday their contracted show money for the event.
Freire said he respected the way he and his fellow fighters were treated, considering the amount of upheaval the Bellator team were forced to endure during a testing 48-hour period that saw them first change the event to a behind-closed-doors show, then postpone it completely.
“Two days before traveling, I contacted Bellator and talked about the possibility of canceling due to family problems,” said the featherweight and lightweight champion. “I know the impact that this would have on the event. Imagine having to cancel all bouts, TV deals all over the world, and the effect on the public and staff. Still, they treated us extremely well at all times, handed all the fighters their win pay, and reassured us in the best possible way.”
With their in-cage rivalry on hold, at least for the immediate future, Freire and Carvalho are united in their hope that the ongoing crisis affects as few people as possible and the pandemic eventually runs its course.
“I feel that people should be cautious and remain calm,” offered Carvalho. “All of this will be temporary. We just have to stay together, keep a positive attitude, and everything will go well.”
“I hope this coronavirus problem passes soon, and everyone can recover,” agreed Freire. “The impact is very big. I’ve read about people worried about losing their jobs because they can’t go to work, and many other factors such as schools closing. I think that everyone’s health comes first. The rest is secondary. May God take care of us all.”
In the main event, featherweight and lightweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (30-4 MMA, 18-4 BMMA) puts his 145-pound title on the line against challenger [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) in the quarterfinals of the grand prix. “Pitbull” Freire is a big 10-1 favorite from the oddsmakers, and he pitched a shutout from our 14 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers.
The co-main event is another quarterfinal fight in the tournament, and the winner will move on to face the Freire-Carvalho winner in what will be a semifinal bout that doubles as a title fight. [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) is a slight favorite against [autotag]Daniel Weichel[/autotag] (40-11 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) in a rematch of a fight Weichel won in 2016. But this time, it’s Sanchez with a 10-4 lead in the picks.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Ronny Markes[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) takes on late replacement [autotag]Matt Mitrione[/autotag] (13-7 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in a heavyweight bout. Markes was supposed to fight Josh Barnett in a fight rescheduled from December, but Barnett was pulled from the event. Mitrione is the favorite at around -170, but our pickers have it split right down the middle at 7-7.
[autotag]Paul Daley[/autotag] (42-17-2 MMA, 8-4 BMMA) is a 4-1 favorite in his welterweight fight against [autotag]Sabah Homasi[/autotag] (13-8 MMA, 2-2 BMMA), and the picks reflect that. Only one picker is taking Homasi in an upset, giving Daley a whopping 13-1 edge.
[autotag]Nick Newell[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) will try to rebound from his first Bellator loss with another fight in his home state when he takes on [autotag]Zach Zane[/autotag] (14-9 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at lightweight. Newell is more than a 2-1 favorite, and he’s our second unanimous pick.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (29-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is a massive 12-1 favorite against [autotag]Fabio Aguiar[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who is making his Bellator debut at middleweight. Only one picker is taking Aguiar in what would be a big upset.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Freire (69 percent), Sanchez (61 percent), Mitrione (77 percent), Daley (92 percent), Newell (70 percent) and Tokov (84 percent) are the choices.
MMA Junkie’s Simon Head previews the biggest Bellator 241 storylines, as Patricio Freire puts his featherweight title on the line in the grand prix.
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?
Pedro Carvalho isn’t letting his emotions get the best of him ahead of Bellator 241.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] isn’t letting his emotions get the best of him ahead of Bellator 241.
An SBG Ireland fighter, Carvalho (11-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) takes on featherweight champion Patricio Freire, who trains out of Pitbull Brothers in Brazil. The two main-event fighters’ home gyms engaged in a war of words on Twitter in recent months, which spilled into Monday’s press conference in New York.
Despite this, Carvalho isn’t getting emotionally invested, he told MMA Junkie at a pre-fight media day Wednesday.
“I wasn’t emotionally invested at all,” Carvalho said. “I was just having fun. They were the ones looking emotionally invested. I was just having a craic in the end. Like I said, I’m cold-blooded in this game. I don’t take anything personally in this game. I see no names and I see no faces. I don’t care what they say. At the time, I was having some fun. It’s homegrown. I don’t make this personal. It’s all about me and myself. Nothing more. The rest is rest.”
In the lead-up to Friday’s event, Freire (30-4 MMA, 18-4 BMMA) made comments that Carvalho and his teammates try too hard to emulate their fellow SBG member and former UFC champion Conor McGregor. Carvalho disagrees.
“That’s just stupid,” Carvalho said. “It’s someone that has no arguments. They have nothing to say about us. He goes for the basic. It’s just stupid and proves he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. … I’m real and unique in my own way. I’m not trying to be someone else. I’m just me – truthfully, me. I know who I am. I don’t need to prove nothing to anyone else. What matters to me is I’m going to be locked with him inside of the cage. We’ll see the rest.”
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As for the fight itself, Carvalho will step into the cage for his first Bellator title fight. Despite the stakes, the 24-year-old featherweight said it doesn’t seem much different.
“It’s been all the same,” Carvalho said. “It’s just another fight. It’s just another day at the office. At the end of the day, it is special, of course. We’re talking about the world belt, but at the same time, I don’t want to make it special because I still have two more men to beat. I’m still in the tournament. I still have a lot to do and I’m still far, far away from my ultimate goal. My ultimate goal isn’t being world champion. My ultimate goal is being one of the greatest – to prove to the whole world I’m the best. I’m so far away from that.”
When he plays the fight out in his head, Carvalho doesn’t see the fight going the distance. He predicts he’ll finish the longtime Bellator MMA staple. If he does, he’ll be only the second man to do so.
“I’m going to finish Patricio ‘Pitbull,'” Carvalho said. “I’m going to go out there and make him work. I’m going to see his breaking point, pick my shots, and then he’ll show me the finish. That’s it.”
Bellator241 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Check out MMA Junkie’s full Bellator 241 pre-fight interview with Pedro Carvalho in the video above.
Will Fleury shared a tale about his teammate, Pedro Carvalho, and it’s sure to win the Portuguese contender some fans ahead of Bellator 241.
Whenever a fighter steps up and challenges for a major title, it’s a special moment, and [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] will experience that thrill Friday night when he challenges Patricio Freire for the featherweight title at Bellator 241 in Uncasville, Conn.
The Dublin-based Portuguese contender is something of an unlikely success story, having arrived in Bellator as a largely unheralded prospect before springing a shock in his debut, then earning a spot in the featherweight grand prix. One win and one “Champion’s Choice” later, Carvalho (11-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) finds himself in a title fight against two-division champion “Pitbull” in the first major main event booking of his career.
Ahead of his fight, one of his teammates at Dublin’s SBG Ireland gym, Bellator middleweight [autotag]Will Fleury[/autotag], posted a message of support for his teammate and told the story of the unlikely contender’s arrival in the gym and how he proved his worth on the mats to a man who, in all honesty, didn’t think he’d go that far.
This Friday night @pedrocarvalhomma fights for the Bellator featherweight title. The first day I met him a little over 3 years ago he showed up for some open kickboxing rounds, he didn’t give a (expletive) that I was bigger than him so we did 2 rounds before we got new partners.
When I talked to him afterwards he was filled with an energy and passion that made it hard not to like him straight away. So I found out his name and when I got home later that day I looked him up online, at the time he was 5-3, on a two-fight losing streak and hadn’t fought in a while, I remember thinking it was a bit tragic that this guy with (expletive) all hope of getting anywhere was so enthusiastic about moving here and devoting his life to becoming a champion.
Well over the last 3 years he’s been the hardest worker in the gym which has led to him going on a 6 fight winning streak against legit Russian wrestlers, top European prospects and UFC veterans. Now I can’t wait till he brings that belt back to Ireland and I can buy him a pint and laugh about how wrong I was. Get her (expletive) done Pedro. #champion #bellator241″
Obviously, we don’t play favorites and just want to see great fights, but we can’t lie. After reading an anecdote like that, it will be hard not to feel happy for Carvalho if he springs the upset in his title fight.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
+ Bellator featherweight and lightweight champion
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ 10 KO victories
+ 11 submission wins
+ 10 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Explosive athlete
^ Deceptive distance closer
+ Accurate hooks and crosses
^ Coming forward or off the counter
+ Hard leg kicks
+ Underrated wrestling ability
+ Good transitional grappler
+ Dangerous guillotine choke
+ Regional MMA title
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt
+ Muay Thai/kickboxing experience
+ 2 KO victories
+ 6 submission wins
+ 7 first-round finishes
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
^ High-output fighter
+ Smooth striking flow
^ Shifts stance/variates attacks
+ Hard body kicks
+ Serviceable scrambling and wrestling
+ Transitions well from topside
+ Active and attacking guard
Point of interest: Pressure vs. counters
The main event in Uncasville features a fantastic title fight that will take place within the confines of Bellator’s featherweight grand prix.
Starting on the feet, we will likely be privy to a battle between a contender who comes with breakneck pressure and a veteran who packs emphatic counters.
Initially hitting the Bellator scene as a heavy-handed brawler with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, [autotag]Particio Freire[/autotag] has steadily sharpened his striking skills during his formative fighting years with the promotion. He quickly demonstrated the ability to work forward off of feints and pressure, as well as be able to sit back and counter when needed.
In recent times, we have seen Freire and other fighters from his camp embrace more of a karate-centric form of kickboxing. Staying lighter on his toes while maintaining a longer stance, the 32-year-old can either enter space quickly to intercept his opposition (as seen in his lightweight title fight with Michael Chandler) or exit to safety when appropriate.
Improvements aside, Freire’s newfound role of playing the matador could get tricky if he does not show the ability to tame his young counterpart early and often.
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Enter [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag].
A Portuguese-born fighter who is now a product of SBG Ireland, Carvalho has been steadily piecing together a complete mixed martial arts game since his time spent learning lessons on the regional scene of Portugal.
Although Carvalho appears to have absorbed some characteristics from his stablemate, Conor McGregor, via osmosis, the title challenger conducts himself more like former SBG fighter Paddy Holohan. Springing forward straight out of the gates, Carvalho is no stranger to shifting stances as he shows to be effective from either side.
Whether launching jabs and leg kicks from the orthodox stance or hitting crosses and crushing body kicks from southpaw, Carvalho flows seamlessly in regards to striking in combination and target variation. But given that Freire is capable of countering in multiple ways, I will be curious to see if Carvalho comes into this contest more defensively mindful of the consequences at hand.
Check out all the facts and figures about Bellator 241, which takes place Friday with a Patricio Freire vs. Pedro Carvalho main event.
Bellator action resumes on Friday with Bellator 241, which takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., with a main card that streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
A featherweight championship fight headlines the card as [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (30-4 MMA, 18-4 BMMA) looks to further entrench his legacy as the greatest 145-pound fighter in Bellator history, when he takes on [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) in a matchup that also serves as a quarterfinal bout in the ongoing featherweight grand prix.
The card has more to offer than that, though. For all the numbers, check below for 30 pre-event facts about Bellator 241.
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Main event
Patricio Freire
Freire competes in his 23rd Bellator bout, tied with David Rickels for the most appearances in company history.
Freire competes in his 11th Bellator title fight, the second most in company history behind Michael Chandler (12).
Freire’s eight victories in Bellator championship fights are most in company history.
Freire is one of two simultaneous two-division champions in Bellator history. Ryan Bader also accomplished the feat.
Freire is one of three fighters in Bellator history to win titles in two weight classes. Bader and Joe Warren also accomplished the feat.
Freire’s 18 victories in Bellator competition are most in company history.
Freire’s 17 victories in Bellator featherweight competition are most in divisional history.
Freire’s 11 stoppage victories in Bellator competition are second most in company history behind Chandler (12).
Freire’s 10 stoppage victories in Bellator featherweight competition are second most in divisional history behind A.J. McKee (11).
Freire’s seven knockout victories in Bellator competition are tied for third most in company history behind Patricky Freire (nine) and Douglas Lima (nine).
Freire’s six knockout victories in Bellator featherweight competition are tied with McKee for most in divisional history.
Freire’s four submission victories in Bellator featherweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind McKee (five).
Patricio Freire vs. Pedro Carvalho
Carvalho has earned eight of his 11 career victories by stoppage. That includes three of his four Bellator wins.
Carvalho’s four-fight Bellator winning streak at featherweight is tied for the third longest active streak in the division behind McKee (16) and Darrion Caldwell (six).
Co-main event
Emmanuel Sanchez
[autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) competes in his 15th Bellator featherweight bout, tied for the fourth most appearances in divisional history behind Freire (21), Daniel Straus (16) and McKee (16).
Sanchez’s 11 victories by Bellator featherweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Freire (17) and McKee (16).
Sanchez’s four submission victories in Bellator featherweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind McKee (five).
Sanchez’s seven decision wins in Bellator featherweight competition are most in divisional history.
[autotag]Daniel Weichel[/autotag] (40-11 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) was successful in his return to the Bellator featherweight division in September.
Remaining main card
Paul Daley
[autotag]Paul Daley[/autotag] (42-17-2 MMA, 8-4 BMMA) has earned all 33 career stoppage victories as a result of strikes. That includes six of his eight Bellator wins.
[autotag]Mitrione Mitrione[/autotag]’s (13-7 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) three-fight winless skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2018.
Mitrione vs. Sergei Kharitonov marked the third shortest no-contest in Bellator/UFC/WEC/Strikeforce/PRIDE combined history at just 15 seconds. Only Marius Zaromskis vs. Waachim Spiritwolf (six seconds) at Strikeforce Challengers 12 and Kevin Casey vs. Antonio Carlos Junior (11 seconds) at UFC Fight Night 80 were faster.
All of Mitrione’s career bouts have taken place under the Bellator or UFC banners.
[autotag]Ronny Markes[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) makes his Bellator debut after being a four-fight veteran of PFL and five-fight UFC veteran.
Markes is 3-3 in his past six fights dating back to June 2017.
[autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag]’s (29-3 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) five-fight Bellator winning streak in middleweight competition is the longest active streak in the division.
With his October win over Hracho Darpinyan, Tokov improved to 22-1 in his past 23 fights dating back to April 2012.
Tokov has earned 23 of his 29 career victories by stoppage. That includes four of his five Bellator wins.
[autotag]Nick Newell[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) has earned 14 of his 16 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 12 of those wins by submission.
