Patricky Freire inspired by brother’s Bellator title win heading into tournament final

Patricky “Pitbull” Freire will battle Marcin Held for the Bellator lightweight tournament final Friday night in Phoenix, and he’s got all the extra motivation he needed on Sept. 5.

At the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, 21 days before his second tournament final, Patricky’s younger brother, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire became the Bellator featherweight champion with a unanimous decision victory over Pat Curran.

The older “Pitbull” brother now wants to bring another title to his family on Sept. 26.

“I’m very motivated for this fight because it’s a tournament final,” Patricky Freire told MMAFighting.com. “I got to a tournament final once in 2011, but lost. This time, I won’t lose. I want my shot at the title.”

On the final weeks of his training camp, “Pitbull” trained right next to his brother’s Bellator 145-pound title.

“My brother left his belt on the mat, so I was looking at it while I trained for this fight,” he said. “It inspired me. I will be the next title challenger.”

“Pitbull” guarantees a shot at the lightweight title with a win over Held at Bellator 126, but he’s not looking past “dangerous” Held.

Held enters the tournament final coming off four consecutive victories with four finishes. Like Freire, he’s heading into his second tournament final after coming up short in the first one.

“He’s a dangerous fighter, has a good jiu-jitsu,” Freire said. “His ground game very is similar to (Rousimar) Palhares’. He likes to go for kneebars and heel hooks from any position. And he trained with Anthony Pettis, so I’m pretty sure he worked his striking and will be ready for everything in this fight.”

“I hope I can get another knockout in this fight, but a submission would also be nice,” said Frerie, who stopped his last couple opponents. “He gives a lot of openings when he’s attacking for submissions. He tries to tap you, but gives his back and even his foot.”

The winner of Held-Freire will likely meet whoever wins between Brooks and Chandler, who rematch for the 155-pound gold on Nov. 15 in San Diego.

“They are both great fighters, and I expect another war between them,” the Brazilian said. “I thought Michael Chandler would win the first one, but Will Brooks showed how tough he is. This time, it’s even harder to pick, but I’ll say Chandler wins. I’ve fought him before and I know he’s a monster.”

Freire picks Chandler to win, but that doesn’t mean he’s hoping he wins so he can avenge his first Bellator loss.

“I think it would be better for the promotion if Chandler wins because it would be a rematch, it would sell better, but I don’t care,” he said. “Let the best man win, and I will get ready to fight and beat him.”

Patricky “Pitbull” Freire will battle Marcin Held for the Bellator lightweight tournament final Friday night in Phoenix, and he’s got all the extra motivation he needed on Sept. 5.

At the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, 21 days before his second tournament final, Patricky’s younger brother, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire became the Bellator featherweight champion with a unanimous decision victory over Pat Curran.

The older “Pitbull” brother now wants to bring another title to his family on Sept. 26.

“I’m very motivated for this fight because it’s a tournament final,” Patricky Freire told MMAFighting.com. “I got to a tournament final once in 2011, but lost. This time, I won’t lose. I want my shot at the title.”

On the final weeks of his training camp, “Pitbull” trained right next to his brother’s Bellator 145-pound title.

“My brother left his belt on the mat, so I was looking at it while I trained for this fight,” he said. “It inspired me. I will be the next title challenger.”

“Pitbull” guarantees a shot at the lightweight title with a win over Held at Bellator 126, but he’s not looking past “dangerous” Held.

Held enters the tournament final coming off four consecutive victories with four finishes. Like Freire, he’s heading into his second tournament final after coming up short in the first one.

“He’s a dangerous fighter, has a good jiu-jitsu,” Freire said. “His ground game very is similar to (Rousimar) Palhares’. He likes to go for kneebars and heel hooks from any position. And he trained with Anthony Pettis, so I’m pretty sure he worked his striking and will be ready for everything in this fight.”

“I hope I can get another knockout in this fight, but a submission would also be nice,” said Frerie, who stopped his last couple opponents. “He gives a lot of openings when he’s attacking for submissions. He tries to tap you, but gives his back and even his foot.”

The winner of Held-Freire will likely meet whoever wins between Brooks and Chandler, who rematch for the 155-pound gold on Nov. 15 in San Diego.

“They are both great fighters, and I expect another war between them,” the Brazilian said. “I thought Michael Chandler would win the first one, but Will Brooks showed how tough he is. This time, it’s even harder to pick, but I’ll say Chandler wins. I’ve fought him before and I know he’s a monster.”

Freire picks Chandler to win, but that doesn’t mean he’s hoping he wins so he can avenge his first Bellator loss.

“I think it would be better for the promotion if Chandler wins because it would be a rematch, it would sell better, but I don’t care,” he said. “Let the best man win, and I will get ready to fight and beat him.”