Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull is relieved after avoiding a fight with Gabriel Braga

mixed martial arts

by scott fontana

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire's path in mixed martial arts has rarely been an easy one, but last year proved to be a particularly trying one.

His first attempt to win championships in three different weight classes from a major North American MMA promotion failed when he lost to Sergio Pettis last June.

Six weeks later, the younger of the Pitbull brothers was beaten in Japan by the under-the-radar Chichiro Suzuki. It was the first time in his 42 career fights that he was knocked out by striking. Injuries and technical submissions that had previously only stopped him.

By August, Pitbull had gone under the knife to heal his neck, never ideal for a professional athlete, and even less so at 36 years old.

By the time he returned to the cage in February, Bellator, Pitbull's promotional home since 2010, had been sold to the PFL, and he was representing his longtime organization as the new boss' most recent featherweight season winner. They were to face each other in a Champion vs. Pitbull match. Clash of Champions. That didn't happen because Jesús Pinedo left a week ago with a back injury and his replacement, Gabriel Braga, was also unavailable.

For now, if Pitbull (35-7, 23 finishes) can compete for the Bellator 145-pound title again on Friday in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that's pretty much a victory in itself. A match against Jeremy Kennedy under the new system.

“[Kennedy] I don't care if it's ugly or not. He’s a good opponent,” Pitbull recently told the Post via an interpreter on a video call. “He's a good Test player. He's looking forward to getting to Belfast and defending his title again.”

Pitbull was disappointed to see two fights fall apart in about a week last month, but the former Bellator lightweight champion was dreading his second bout with Bulaga, which was booked on short notice.

It's no surprise given that the pit bull was trained for many years by Braga's father, Diego, who was killed in January by suspected drug traffickers in his native Brazil.

Obviously, both men would have fought with heavy hearts for the same reason in the PFL vs. Bellator fight in Saudi Arabia. After years of watching each other grow, they are on a mission to hurt each other – Braga has gone from being a boy to being 25 years old – old PFL finalist, up-and-coming featherweight buzzsaw Pitbull, up until the promotion. joins the esteemed Bellator record holder with 23 wins.

“When I got on the scale and saw he wasn’t in the dressing room and everyone else said he wasn’t going to fight, I was a little relieved because that wasn’t the fight I wanted to have. I don’t want to fight without it,” Pitbull explains. “So it was actually a relief to me that we didn't fight, especially under these circumstances.”

Pitbull remembers Bulaga, 44, a 16-year MMA veteran, as not only a great person, friend and father, but also “a very good role model for everyone.”

“He's a great guy who opened doors everywhere,” Pitbull says. “He was always welcoming no matter where he went. He always shined there. And it was great to train with him over the years. Without it, everyone loses a lot.”

Avoiding a heart-breaking matchup, Pitbull turned his attention to Kennedy and Bellator (officially renamed the Bellator Champions Series after the PFL acquired a second rival to the UFC) and finally competed in October. He turned his attention to the featherweight division, where he would defend the championship he had acquired. 2022 while chasing history and playing against cross-promotional opponents from Rizin FF.

Friday will also be Pitbull's first chance to see how well his body holds up in a real fight since undergoing cervical spine surgery in early August, just after a knockout loss to Suzuki at 154 pounds — essentially. It's a lightweight match.

“It took several months to recover,” Pitbull said. “It took me a long time to get close to 100 percent. Once you have the surgery, you'll have some small setbacks, so I don't think you'll ever be back to 100 percent. I feel ready to compete against the best players in the world and continue to defend my title.”

This isn't the first time Pitbull has experienced a guard change at the top of Bellator.

Pitbull, 22, made his debut during the second season of the then-format while Bjorn Rebney was president of the fledgling organization, less than three months after former Strikeforce manager Scott. He won his first of three featherweight titles. Coker took over the reins in June 2014.

But this time, as signs began to show that the PFL would acquire Bellator from former owner Paramount, the loyal Pitbull expressed some interest in testing free agency and considering a jump to the UFC. The world's elite at 145 pounds.

It's up to the jury to decide whether that happens when Pitbull's contract expires, and Pitbull has said he will soon, without going into details, but is focused on the fight at hand. .

“When the time comes, I'm going to see what's on the table and see what Bellator/PFL has to offer me,” Pitbull said. “There are other opportunities.'' I don't close the door on anything. ”