Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire can look back on 2022 as a year to remember.
After regaining the 145-pound belt in a rematch against A.J. McKee at Bellator 277 in April, Freire successfully defended the crown against Hungarian contender Adam Borics at Belaltor 286 this past October. He’ll conclude his campaign with a cross-promotional matchup against Rizin Fighting Federation champion Kleber Koike Erbst on New Year’s Eve.
"I screamed so loud about the importance of having cross promotion challenges that someone on the other side of the world heard,” Freire told Sherdog.com. “I truly hope this show promoted by Bellator and Rizin is the first of many and serves as an example for other organizations.”
Freire is well aware of the challenges his opponent presents. Erbst has won his last seven bouts and sports a career mark of 31-5-1 — with 27 triumphs coming by way of submission.
“Koike is very dangerous. Everybody who underestimated him got choked out and I won’t make that mistake,” Freie said. “I studied his fights a lot.”
Freire had a great first impression of Erbst at a launching ceremony for the Bellator-Rizin event in October. “Pitbull” claims he won’t be upset if his fellow Brazilian screams his “Vou Pegar” catchphrase as he has against previous opponents. Loosely translated, the phrase means “I’ll catch you” in English.
"I saw an interview he did with where he revealed that ‘Vou Pegar’ became a T-shirt brand in Japan, and that whenever he doesn’t scream [the phrase], the Japanese fans complain to him,” Freire said. “So I won’t be mad if he screams in the middle of our fight. This is part of the show.”
The featherweight champion also disputed the pay figures released from his Bellator 286 victory over Borics. According to salary figures released by the California State Athletic Commission, “Pitbull” earned $150,000 for that bout.
"Pure fake news. That was my purse back in 2012,” he said. “I cannot talk about numbers, but I can guarantee for sure that today I make more money per fight in Bellator than the UFC heavyweight champion.”
Freire dismissed the possibility of going back to lightweight to avenge his brother Patricky’s loss to Usman Nurmagomedov in a 155-pound title fight earlier this year.
“I have no intention to go to the lightweight division like I did when [Michael] Chandler defeated my brother. That was a totally different contest, which is why Patricky is totally focused on regaining the belt,” he said. “I really think Usman is technically inferior to Patricky, even being 16-0. He is a skinny guy with baby skin. If Patricky uses all we’ve trained, he would win [a rematch].”
Freire believes that two other lightweight contenders, along with his brother, could surprise Nurmagomedov if he enters the lightweight grand prix.
“[Alexander] Shabliy, Tofiq [Musayev] and Patricky are better fighters than Usman,” he said. “If he enters the grand prix and faces any of them, he may lose the belt before the final. I truly hope Khabib doesn’t protect him from entering the grand prix and expect to fight the winner [at the end of the tournament].”
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