Patricio Freire explains what he did differently in his rematch against A.J. McKee at Bellator 277.
Still undefeated in rematches (second fights), Patricio Freire reclaimed the Bellator featherweight belt last Friday.
At Bellator 277, ‘Pitbull’ showed a more composed version of himself and defeated A.J. McKee via unanimous decision after being choked unconscious by the ‘Mercenary’ in their first encounter.
In an interview with Super Lutas’ YouTube channel, the Brazilian explained the adjustments he made for the second outing. Most of them, Pitbull says, had more to do with learning how to perform better while in hostile territory.
“For sure, the biggest change was my behavior in the cage,” Freirea said. “I was way too relaxed in the last fight, because the fans were too pumped. It was in Los Angeles, my opponent’s turf. I switched on that ‘relax’ button and I was way too at ease. We were studying each other and I ended up folding under the pressure he put on at the beginning.”
“(This time around), I didn’t let him pressure me.” Freire said. I didn’t fold at any point in order not to take the fight closer to the fence. It was the opposite.”
The win over McKee extends Freire’s (33-5) record to 9-1 in his last ten outings. Before the loss in July 2021, the 34-year-old scored wins over some of Bellator’s most notable names, such as Michael Chandler, Juan Archuleta and Daniel Straus, among others.