Even though Patricio Freire won the rematch against A.J. McKee, “Pitbull” could not deny the skills of his opponent.
At Bellator 277 on April 15, Freire (33-5) exacted revenge on McKee (18-1) by claiming a unanimous decision and handing “Mercenary” his first career defeat. While the fight was close and a few media scorers awarded the win to “Pitbull,” Freire kept his promise to the fans by winning the sixth rematch of his career. The Brazilian has still never lost when fighting a person for the second time, and he spoke to Sherdog about why he always wins his so-called 'revenge fights.'
“I’m like a fighting nerd,” Freire explained. “When I commit a mistake or my opponent gets some advantage over me, I live to correct that and study every move of my opponent. That’s what I did after A.J. defeated me. Also, I could feel he was too cocky and self-confident in the backstage, and that’s not good for a champion. The best lesson to him came with the result.”
As Freire said in the post-fight press conference, the only possibility of a trilogy would be McKee renewing his contract with Bellator and staying in the featherweight division. McKee himself mentioned that he considered moving up to 155 pounds going forward. If that happened, Freire would hope that McKee would meet his brother, lightweight champ Patricky Freire.
“If he wants a trilogy, it would be a pleasure to face him in my division,” “Pitbull” said. “But if he intends to go up, there is another ‘Pitbull’ there anxious to welcome him with a huge knockout. Against Patricky, he wouldn’t have the same range advantage, and also my brother [hits] harder than I [do].”
Freire believes McKee will soon sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, even if he does so coming off a loss.
“A win over me would make his life easier,” Freire noted. “As far as I know, he asked an absurd amount of money [from] Bellator and did not sign [a] contract yet. But, anything can happen.”
In case McKee signs with rival organization UFC, “Pitbull” sees McKee having a realistic chance to claim the belt in its featherweight division.
“If he really decides to go to lightweight, it’s a new reality,” Freire stated, “but if he goes to [the] UFC [at] featherweight, I have no doubt he will be a bad matchup for any top contender, including [Alexander] Volkanovski.”
Whether McKee moves to lightweight or leaves for greener pastures in the UFC, the champion believes that his next title defense must be against Adam Borics.
“He is a great kickboxer who is doing a great job in Bellator. Our matchup has everything to bring a lot of entertainment to the fans. Let’s make it,” Freire concluded.
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