It’s not often two fighters go head-to-head four times, but Patricio Freire and Daniel Straus just can’t seem to get enough of each other in the cage.
A lot was on the line for Straus as he looked to defend his featherweight title against “Pitbull” at Bellator 178 on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
While Straus defeated Freire the last time they met in November 2015, it was Freire’s night, as he submitted the champ with a guillotine in the second round, recapturing the belt to become the reigning 145-pound champion.
In the first round, neither fighter really came out to take over and look for the quick finish. Pitbull broke his hand in August, and there were questions about his ability to throw strikes with confidence. He put those doubts to rest when he came out and began to show some aggression toward the end of the first frame.
Straus was looking for blood in Round 2 and attempted a takedown to knock his opponent off his feet. Unfortunately for Straus, Pitbull was ready for it.
Freire hooked Straus’ neck and got underneath his chin for the guillotine. After wrapping his legs around Straus’ torso, the end was near, and the American surrendered his title to his bitter rival.
The Brazilian now has a 3-1 advantage over Straus in the cage and will surely look to defend his title against some of the division’s new prospects.
The main event didn’t disappoint, and neither did the rest of the card. Here are the rest of the results.
Bellator 178 main card results
A.J. McKee def. Dominic Mazzotta via knockout (Round 1, 1:15)
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane def. Jessica Middleton via submission (armbar) (Round 1, 2:15)
Saad Awad def. Ryan Quinn via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Patricio Freire def. Daniel Straus via submission (guillotine choke) (Round 2, 0:37)
McKee shuts out the lights on Mazzotta
It didn’t take A.J. Mckee long to take care of business against Dominic Mazzotta. Even though McKee is an exciting fighter, it’s hard to imagine many people thought this fight would be over so early.
And surely nobody imagined seeing a brutal head-kick knockout either.
Mazzotta was running for his life the moment the fight started as McKee quickly took control on his feet.
Mazzotta did his best to create distance between himself and McKee by using a couple of body kicks, but eventually, McKee found his mark on the side of Mazzotta’s head, sending his body to the canvas.
It was an impressive victory for the 22-year-old, who immediately called out SBG’s own James Gallagher.
Apparently paying attention to the fight, Gallagher took to Twitter to begin what could be an interesting rivalry between two of the most exciting prospects Bellator has to offer.
Macfarlane makes quick work of Middleton
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is one bad woman.
The pride of Hawaii left her mark on Bellator 178 with another impressive victory over a formidable opponent in Jessica Middleton, submitting Middleton in the first round via armbar.
Middleton didn’t stand much of a chance as Macfarlane quickly got into an advantageous position by pushing her up against the cage, eventually working her way to takedown.
From there, she was able to pass Middleton’s half-guard to get into full mount, setting up a beautifully executed armbar.
With the win, Macfarlane advanced to 6-0 in her career and will be knocking on the door for a shot at the flyweight title.
Awad cruises to decision victory
After seeing two first-round finishes, fans were probably a little disappointed to not see another quick fight between Saad Awad and Ryan Quinn.
Nevertheless, it was still a good bout. Unless you were a Quinn fan, that is.
Quinn seemed to get tagged in the first round and fell from an Awad right hook but managed to survive. He probably would’ve been better off staying on the ground and giving up, as Awad did not let up one bit after seeing Quinn show signs of vulnerability.
It what could’ve easily been a 10-8 round, Awad took advantage of Quinn in Round 2 once again. Besides a brief moment when Quinn had Awad’s back within the first minute, Awad continued to drop bombs, eventually getting Quinn’s back toward the later stages of the round while punishing him with strikes.
More of the same happened in the third in what wasn’t a competitive fight for bystanders. Quinn will have to go back to the drawing board and figure out what happened, while Awad has proved he can grind out a decision. Perhaps he’ll make up his mind whether to fight at lightweight again or move back to welterweight. Either way, he’s bound to find some type of success.
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