Tag: Roberto de Souza

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.

[lawrence-related id=2663863,2664707]

Patricky Freire confident he can stop Roberto de Souza’s game: ‘I’m a complete fighter’

Patricky Freire is unfazed by the late opponent change for Bellator X Rizin 2.

[autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] is unfazed by the late opponent change for Bellator X Rizin 2.

With A.J. McKee forced out due to a staff infection, RIZIN lightweight champion [autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) will step in to faceĀ Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) in Saturday’s main eventĀ at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event airs live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET.

De Souza will enter the Bellator lightweight grand prix having won six of his past seven, but Freire is confident wherever the fight goes.

“I’m going to stop his game,” Freire told reporters through an interpreter at a Bellator X Rizin 2 news conference Thursday evening. “I’m going to be smart. I’m going to be relaxed. Everything’s going to be calm. Nothing changes: Go out there and win.”

McKee and de Souza possess different styles, but “Pitbull” says he didn’t have to change much in his approach.

“I’ve been a blackbelt since 2007, so I train everything: striking, wrestling, jiu-jitsu,” Freire said. “I’m a complete fighter. Strategy doesn’t need to change that much when you’re complete a fighter. I’m ready.”

De Souza’s mother is from Japan, so he will likely have the crowd behind him ā€“ but Freire doesn’t necessarily see that being the case.

“I don’t believe that all the Japanese fans are going to be rooting for ‘Satoshi,'” Freire said. “I believe that the ‘Pitbull’ brothers have a fanbase here in Japan, and I think the fans will be split in who they cheer for. It doesn’t matter because once that cage door closes, there’s only me and Satoshi in the cage, and that’s what counts.”

[lawrence-related id=2663451,2662758,2662705,2662998]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkieā€™s event hub for Bellator x Rizin 2.

Major changes to Bellator X Rizin 2: A.J. McKee out; Patricky Freire faces RIZIN champ; Patricio ‘Pitbull’ added

Major changes tweak Bellator X Rizin 2 in Japan, including the removal of A.J. McKee and random addition of Patricio Freire in a new bout.

Saturday’s Bellator x Rizin 2 has been hit with a pair of changes to the lineup during fight week, including the loss of one half of the main event.

[autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag], who was set to take on [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] in a lightweight grand prix quarterfinal bout, is now out with a medical issue. Stepping in to face Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) on short notice is RIZIN lightweight champion [autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in the new main event, the promotions announced during a joint news conference Wednesday local time.

Details about McKee’s medical issues were not disclosed, but a Bellator official told MMA Junkie he will be an alternate in the tournament moving forward. De Souza is now officially in the Bellator lightweight grand prix, and the bout against Patricky Freire will be five rounds. However, due to the short-notice nature of the change, the bout will be contested at 161 pounds.

In addition to a shift in the headliner, a late addition will see the other “Pitbull,” Bellator featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (35-6 MMA), take on [autotag]Chihiro Suzuki[/autotag] (10-3) in a 154-pound catchweight contest ā€“ an additional bout added to the event on just days’ notice. This bout will take place on the RIZIN portion of the event, which follows the five-fight Bellator segment of the card.

Bellator X Rizin 2 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event airs live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET. The co-feature bout will crown an inaugural Bellator flyweight champion, as Kyoji Horiguchi takes on Makoto Shinryu.

With the changes, the Bellator X Rizin 2 lineup includes:

  • Patricky Freire vs. Roberto de Souza ā€“ lightweight grand prix quarterfinal
  • Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Makoto Shinryu ā€“ inaugural flyweight title
  • Magomed Magomedov vs. Danny Sabatello
  • Veta Arteaga vs. Kana Watanabe
  • Andrey Koreshkov vs. Lorenz Larkin

[pickup_prop id=”33656″]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator x Rizin 2.

A.J. McKee def. Roberto de Souza at Rizin FF vs. Bellator: Best photos

Check out the best photos from A.J. McKee’s unanimous decision win over Roberto de Souza at Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator.

Check out these photos highlighting [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag] at Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator from Saitama Super Arena in Japan. (Photos by Rizin FF)

Rizin FF vs. Bellator results: A.J. McKee edges champ Roberto de Souza, secures 5-0 sweep for Team Bellator

A.J. McKee defeated Rizin FF champion Roberto de Souza in a unanimous decision to make it 5-0 for Team Bellator at Rizin FF vs. Bellator.

[autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] made it a clean sweep for Team Bellator at Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator

The former Bellator featherweight champion defeated Rizin FF lightweight champion [autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag] by unanimous decision in the main event of Saturdayā€™sĀ card, which pitted the top names from the top organizations against one another. With the win, Bellator beat Rizin FF 5-0 in their cross-promotion showdown.

The event took place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, near Tokyo, Japan. The main card airs on Showtime via tape-delay at 8 p.m. ET.

McKee (20-1) and de Souza (14-2) arguably put on the best fight of the main card. The two went back and forth on both the ground and feet. It was a high-paced bout.

In Round 1, McKee looked to establish dominance on the feet, but de Souza pulled guard and forced him into grappling. Against his corner’s advice, McKee didn’t look to get back on his feet and welcomed the ground work. The rest of the round, it was McKee landing ground-and-pound from top and keeping defensively sound, while de Souza looked to set up submissions from bottom.

Things really picked up in Round 2. De Souza stood with McKee and the two traded shots, at times getting wild in their exchanges. It was fairly even on the feet, and then de Souza managed to get the fight to the ground and get the back around the halfway point. De Souza had good control, but didn’t look to get close in any of his submission attempts. With about a minute remaining, McKee slipped out and began punishing the Brazilian. Big strikes, body stomps, knees to the head while downed ā€“ McKee put it on de Souza.

In the final round, de Souza clearly was the one who shinned. He took a more aggressive approach and took down McKee several times, while taking his back a couple of times, and attacking from multiple positions. McKee spent the majority of the round trying to defend takedowns and fighting off submissions.

[lawrence-related id=2607653,2607633]

McKee is now on a two-fight winning streak since losing his Bellator featherweight title and undefeated record to Brazil’s Patricio Freire back in April. This was also his second fight at 155 pounds, as he was coming off a successful lightweight debut in October against Spike Carlyle.

And with the defeat, de Souza saw a five-fight winning streak come to an end. Prior to the event, de Souza only had one professional defeat, which came in 2019 against former UFC fighter Johnny Case.

Official Rizin vs. Bellator results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkieā€™s event hub forĀ Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator.

[vertical-gallery id=2607773]

[vertical-gallery id=2607639]

Roberto de Souza expects ‘difficult fight’ with A.J. McKee, but hopes win helps Rizin’s brand value

“I hope I get a win and raise the name of Rizin around the world.”

[autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag] hopes a win over [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] puts Rizin’s name on the map globally.

Rizin FF’s lightweight champ de Souza (14-1)Ā faces former Bellator featherweight champ McKee (19-1)Ā in Saturday’s Rizin 40 headliner atĀ Saitama Super Arena just outside Tokyo. The main card will air in the U.S. on Showtime via tape delay and the fights will take place in Rizinā€™s ring under the promotion’s ruleset.

De Souza’s lone career loss came to Johnny Case by TKO in 2019 ā€“ a result he avenged by first-round submission in his recent outing in April. De Souza acknowledges that McKee is well-versed everywhere, but wants to show Rizin’s level in this big cross-promotion bout.

“I think he’s a dangerous fighter, but that’s about it,” de SouzaĀ said through an interpreter during the Rizin 40 pre-fight press conference. “But he’s from Bellator and he’s been chosen by Bellator so I have to be careful in that sense.”

He continued, “I know it’s gonna be a difficult fight and maybe one of the most difficult fights of my career. But I’ve trained hard for this match and I hope I get a win and raise the name of Rizin around the world.”

This will mark McKee’s second fight at lightweight. After losing his featherweight title in his rematch against Patricio Freire, McKee made his lightweight debut against Spike Carlyle. He won the bout by unanimous decision.

“Of course he’s fought in lightweight only once so I can’t really comment on the difference (between featherweight and lightweight),” de Souza said. “But watching his featherweight matches, he was physically strong, he had mostly finishes in his matches. But his previous match at lightweight, he wasn’t able to finish that, so I really can’t tell.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator.

[listicle id=2591475]

Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator weigh-in results: Promotion vs. promotion fights official

Check out the results from the official Rizin FF 40 weigh-ins, which features fight Rizin vs. Bellator cross-promotional fights.

The stage is set for the final major MMA event of 2022 after official weigh-ins for Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator went down Thursday night in Japan.

With five promotion vs. promotion fights set for the main card, which airs on Showtime via tape-delay on Saturday from Saitama Super Arena just outside Tokyo, all the notable athletes successfully made weight.

In the main event, Rizin FF lightweight champion [autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag] (14-1) will welcome former Bellator featherweight titleholder [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (19-1) to his turf in a compelling matchup. The co-headliner wills see current Bellator featherweight champ [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (34-5) take on Rizin FF’s [autotag]Kleber Koike Erbst[/autotag] (31-5-1).

Check out the complete main card weigh-in results below:

  • A.J. McKee (154.7) vs. Roberto de Souza (156)
  • Kleber Koike Erbst (145.2) vs. Patricio Freire (145)
  • [autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag] (124.8) vs. [autotag]Hiromasa Ougikubo[/autotag] (125.4)
  • [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (134) vs. [autotag]Soo Chul Kim[/autotag] (133.8)
  • [autotag]Gadzhi Rabadanov[/autotag] (155.9) vs. [autotag]Koji Takeda[/autotag] (156)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator.

[vertical-gallery id=391998]

A.J. McKee looking to push the pace vs. Roberto de Souza: ‘He hasn’t fought anybody my caliber yet’

A.J. McKee thinks Rizin lightweight champ Roberto de Souza hasn’t seen anything like him before in MMA.

[autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] sees his fight against [autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag]Ā as a stern test for the both of them.

McKee (19-1) meets Rizin lightweight champion de Souza (14-1) on Saturday’sĀ Rizin 40 headliner atĀ Saitama Super Arena just outside Tokyo. The main card will air in the U.S. on Showtime via tape-delay and the fights will take place in Rizinā€™s ring under the promotion’s ruleset.

Like McKee, de Souza only has one loss on his resume. But the former Bellator featherweight champion expects to present de Souza’s toughest challenge to date.

“He’s good,” McKee said during the Rizin 40 pre-fight press conference. “I feel he hasn’t fought anybody in my caliber yet, so I’m looking forward to just bringing him a good fight and pushing the pace.”

He continued, “It’s gonna be a fun fight, it’s gonna be an exciting fight. It’s gonna be a fight where I think the people are gonna love it, I’m gonna love it, I’m just gonna be out there having fun, doing what I love to do. It’s a ring, so for me it’s gonna be a bit different but for this fight in particular, I’m not too worried about it.”

De Souza has finished all his professional wins, 10 of them by submission. McKee acknowledges the Brazilian-Japanese’s high-level jiu-jitsu game, but thinks he’ll be able to match it.

“He’s got phenomenal ground game,” McKee said. “I don’t think I’ve fought anybody with the caliber of jiu-jitsu that he has. I think this is gonna be a great test. I feel I have just as equal jiu-jitsu as him. So when we hit the ground, it’s gonna be a surprise for everyone ā€“ even for myself. I’m intrigued to see how it goes. He’s very slick, he pops out with that triangle and transfers to his armbar very well. So yeah, this is gonna be a fun one.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Rizin FF 40: Rizin vs. Bellator.

[vertical-gallery id=2586261]

[listicle id=2591475]

A.J. McKee wishes Rizin belt was on line vs. Roberto de Souza, looks forward to ruleset

A.J. McKee is pumped to “go unleash some soccer kicks” on Roberto de Souza at Bellator vs. Rizin in Japan.

[autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] wishes his fight against Rizin lightweight champion [autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag] would have been for the title.

McKee (19-1) will headline a Bellator vs. Rizin event against de Souza (14-1) on New Year’s Eve at Saitama Super Arena just outside Tokyo. The five-fight card will air in the U.S. on Showtime.

McKee, the former Bellator featherweight champion, would have liked more on the line than just promotional bragging rights but is excited for the opportunity nonetheless.

“It’s not on the line; I wish it was on the line,” McKee told MMA Junkie Radio. “For me, it’s all about the belts, especially us being the main event. I was looking forward to maybe putting that belt on the line, putting my belt on the line. Maybe I’ll slide into his DMs and tell him, ‘I’m gonna bring my belt, you bring your belt, winner takes all.’ I’m a risk taker, I’m gonna put it all on the table every time.”

McKee, 27, won the Bellator featherweight title in July 2021 with a first-round technical submission of then-champ Patricio Fereira in the promotion’s $1 million grand prix final. McKee lost the belt to Freire by close unanimous decision in their rematch last April. In his most recent bout, McKee beat Spike Carlyle by unanimous decision in a Fight of the Year candidate this past October at Bellator 286.

McKee will be looking to finish his 2022 on a positive note when he competes in Rizin’s ring under the promotion’s ruleset, which he can’t wait to utilize.

“A fight’s a fight at the end of the day,” McKee said. “I feel like styles make fights and taking nothing against these guys, we’re going over there and fighting them in their home turf, in their ring, under their rules. So for us, we’re the risk takers. But for me, there’s no problem.

“More risk, more reward for myself and since I was a kid I’ve dreamt of doing a Pride-style fight, and that’s what I’m ready for. Go unleash some soccer kicks and knees to the face.”

[vertical-gallery id=2586261]

[listicle id=2591475]

Video: Does Rizin vs. Bellator show that MMA needs more cross-promoting?

Bellator and RIZIN are going head-to-head on New Year’s Eve. Could MMA use more cross-promotion?

Bellator and RIZIN are advertised as adversaries for their upcoming Dec. 31 event. But are they really?

In a move rare among major MMA promotions, the two organizations have agreed to a co-promotion that will feature five head-to-head main card matchups featuring Bellator and RIZIN fighters competing against one another.

Champions from both organizations are on the marquee, including a headlining bout between [autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag] and [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag], as well as a co-main event between [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] and [autotag]Kleber Koike Erbst[/autotag].

This move is unusual, but what does it mean to the viewers and the sport of mixed martial arts as a whole? Could MMA use more cross-promoting or is its interest and viability overrated?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Danny Segura, Farah Hannoun and Brian “Goze” Garcia give their reactions to the event with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

ā€œSpinning Back Cliqueā€ is released each Monday LIVE onĀ MMA Junkieā€™s YouTube channel.

[vertical-gallery id=2591602]