The coach of Bellator MMA great Patricio Freire expects that it is only a matter of time until his fighter is a triple champ.
At Fight Ready in Arizona, Eric Albarracin coaches a solid roster of fighters including former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Henry Cejudo, ex-title challenger Paulo Costa and both of the “Pitbull” brothers Patricio and Patricky Freire. With the top echelon of his squad all holding sky-high aspirations, news broke recently that Patricio was planning on moving to 135 pounds to earn a title in that weight class as well. Albarracin spoke to Sherdog about two of the aforementioned competitors, including Patricio’s plans and Costa’s possible next fight, on Thursday.
“When you reach a certain level, like Cejudo and Patricio, more important than the belt itself is to make history,” the acclaimed coach remarked. “Patricio has already beaten all the records and conquered belts in two weight divisions, now he will get [to] bantamweight and write his name in history as the only triple [champion] in Bellator history. Two belts [are] normal in our team, now we are going after the third one.”
Any negotiations between Bellator divisional champ Sergio Pettis and Patricio are extremely premature, given that Bellator is running a bantamweight grand prix that includes an interim belt and a promise to face Pettis. Those possible negotiations are not the only ones being discussed, as Albarracin’s top middleweight, Costa, has one fight remaining on his UFC deal. Opponents like Sean Strickland have been floated, but they have not settled on anyone as of yet.
“’Borrachinha’ is always in great shape! He spent one week with us here in Fight Ready and did great sparring with Sullivan [Cauley] from Bellator. He told me that he still has one fight left on his UFC contract. He must do this fight with Strickland. After that, he may go to boxing challenges against Logan Paul or Jake Paul. But for now, Strickland is the perfect fight for him to finish his contract,” Albarracin finished.
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