Patricio “Pitbull” Freire News

Cole Shelton - April 19, 2021

AJ McKee has known it would be him and Patricio Pitbull in the finals of the featherweight grand prix. McKee made quick work of Georgi Karakhanyan and then submitted Derek Camps and Darrion Caldwell to reach the finals. Pitbull, meanwhile, beat Juan Archuleta and then KO’d Pedro Carvalho and submitted Emmanuel Sanchez to reach the finals.

Adam D Martin - April 4, 2021

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull and No. 1 contender AJ McKee got into a heated verbal exchange following Bellator 255. Pitbull finished Emmanuel Sanchez on Friday in the main event of Bellator 255 to advance to the finals of the Bellator World Featherweight Grand Prix. The Brazilian is the reigning and defending Bellator featherweight champion — not to mention the Bellator lightweight champion — and he will put his belt on the line once again in the finals against McKee, the top prospect who is the son of former UFC fighter Antonio McKee. The younger McKee looked absolutely sensational on his way to the finals and the undefeated fighter is arguably Pitbull’s toughest test to date. This should be an incredible finale at 145lbs.

Cole Shelton - April 2, 2021

In the main event of Bellator 255, Patricio Pitbull and Emmanuel Sanchez were set for a rematch three years in the making. The fight also served as the semifinals of the featherweight grand prix. Patricio Pitbull (31-4) is riding a six-fight winning streak and coming off a vicious KO win over Pedro Carvalho last November. Before that, he beat Juan Archuleta by decision and knocked out Michael Chandler in 61 seconds to claim the lightweight title and become a champ-champ. He also beat Sanchez back in November of 2018.

Cole Shelton - April 1, 2021

Patricio Pitbull has made it known, he wants a cross-promotional fight against Alex Volkanovski. Pitbull is the current featherweight and lightweight champion in Bellator while Volkanovski holds UFC gold at featherweight. Both men have taken shots at one another on social media, and Pitbull has called for the fight to happen. Yet, he doesn’t believe it will happen.

Cole Shelton - March 30, 2021

Patricio Pitbull knows he can’t just beat Emmanuel Sanchez in the main event of Bellator 255, but he has to finish him. Pitbull and Sanchez first met in 2018 with the Brazilian winning a decision. Since the fight, Sanchez has been campaigning for a rematch given he went the distance with the champ.

Adam Martin - March 29, 2021

Bellator released its inaugural rankings and Patricio Pitbull and Cris Cyborg have topped the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings lists. Bellator announced the first-ever edition of its promotional fighter rankings on Monday. 17 media members voted on the Bellator rankings, and you can see them all below.

Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021

Two-division Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull trashed Tapology for ranking him as the 21st-best featherweight in the sport. Tapology is one of the top resources in the world of mixed martial arts. The website has an incredible record-keeping system in MMA and is generally regarded as the top MMA database going right now. However, Pitbull has a bone to pick with them about the site’s ranking systems. Tapology has its own rankings system where it ranks the best fighters in the world by division regardless of promotion. It’s worth noting that registered users submit their rankings, so it’s not Tapology itself that is doing the rankings, but MMA fans.

Adam D Martin - February 10, 2021

Patricio Pitbull promised to be “more violent and better” in his upcoming Bellator 255 rematch against rival Emmanuel Sanchez. On Tuesday, the promotion officially announced that Pitbull and Sanchez will meet on April 2 in the main event of Bellator 255. It will be a five-round fight with the Bellator featherweight title on the line, and the match is also a semifinal bout in the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix, with the winner facing off against the unbeaten AJ McKee in June to crown the winner of the tournament.

Tom Taylor - February 1, 2021

Patricio Freire believes Michael Chandler will become the UFC lightweight champion, but that still won’t make him the sport’s best lightweight. Freire and Chandler are easily the two most accomplished fighters in Bellator MMA history. The pair have fought once before, with Freire knocking Chandler out to capture the promotion’s featherweight belt—though many feel it was a premature stoppage.

Adam Martin - January 26, 2021

Patricio Pitbull says that the success of Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez in the UFC is showing the “power of Bellator.” Chandler had an amazing UFC debut last weekend at UFC 257 when he brutally knocked out the typically-durable Dan Hooker with punches in the first round. Heading into the UFC, there were many question marks about the former three-time Bellator lightweight champion, but Chandler’s win over Hooker showed that he is an elite fighter. And if you think Chandler is good, just remember Pitbull knocked him out in June 2019. Both men are proof Bellator is home to some of the sport’s elite.

Adam D Martin - January 24, 2021

Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull trashed former rival Michael Chandler following his UFC 257 first-round knockout win over Dan Hooker. Pitbull and Chandler met in Bellator back in June 2019, with Pitbull scoring an upset when he knocked Chandler out in the first round to win the Bellator lightweight title. Both Pitbull and Chandler are universally regarded as the two best home-grown Bellator fighters of all time, but Chandler finally made the move to the big show when he decided to sign with the UFC in 2020. He made his promotional debut at UFC 257, knocking Hooker out in the first round.

Drake Riggs - January 19, 2021

There’s no denying the fact that Max Holloway and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire are two of the best featherweights on the planet. However, the latter isn’t so much impressed with the former. This past Saturday night at UFC Fight Island 7, the former UFC champion in Holloway competed in his first non-title tilt since June 2016. In the said bout, the Hawaiian would go on to set nine UFC records in a masterclass at the expense of the No. 6 ranked UFC contender, Calvin Kattar. One of which is the most significant strikes landed in a single fight (445).

Harry Kettle - November 20, 2020

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and AJ McKee have exchanged words following the latter’s big win at Bellator 253 last night. McKee, who now holds an unbeaten 17-0 record in mixed martial arts, shocked a lot of people by running through Darrion Caldwell last night with a dominant shoulder crank victory to earn his place in the finals of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix.

Cole Shelton - November 17, 2020

Patricio Pitbull believes he would beat UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski. Pitbull is the current champ-champ in Bellator where he won the lightweight title with a 61-second KO over Michael Chandler. Ever since then, people started to pay attention to how legit he is.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2020

Two-division Bellator champion Patricio Freire has opened the door to a cross-promotional super fight with UFC superstar Conor McGregor. Freire returned to the cage on Thursday, when he defended the Bellator featherweight title with a lopsided knockout victory over McGregor’s teammate at SBG Ireland, Pedro Carvalho.

Cole Shelton - November 12, 2020

Bellator remains in Uncasville, Connecticut for Bellator 252 where Patricio Pitbull takes on Pedro Carvalho in the main event. Patricio Pitbull (30-4) is on a five-fight winning streak where he won and defended the featherweight title three times during this run. He also knocked out Michael Chandler in 61 seconds to win the lightweight title to become a champ-champ in Bellator. Pitbull is coming off a decision win over Juan Archuleta to defend his belt in the opening round of the featherweight grand prix.

Tom Taylor - November 12, 2020

Two-division Bellator champ Patricio Freire has shared his thoughts on how Michael Chandler will perform in the UFC’s Octagon. Freire currently holds the Bellator featherweight and lightweight titles, and is slated to defend the former against Pedro Carvalho in the main event of Bellator 252 on Thursday night.

Adam Martin - October 4, 2020

Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull sent a message to new UFC fighter Michael Chandler, saying “you’ll always be my b*tch.” Pitbull KOed Chandler in Bellator last June to become a rare double champion in the promotion. As for Chandler, after KOing Sidney Outlaw and Benson Henderson in devastating fashion, he signed a free-agent contract with the UFC. The UFC is so high on Chandler that it has tabbed him as the official backup for UFC 254’s main event between UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champ Justin Gaethje.