Nearing one of the biggest fights of his professional career, Bellator 36’s Patricky Freire got some of the worst news possible.
Ivan Canello, who had been Freire’s manager but also his very close friend, died suddenly earlier this week at age 32. It was a jarring emotional blow to the 25-year-old Freire.
“First of all, I was very sad,” Freire wrote in an e-mail to MMAjunkie.com. “Then I thought, I have to be strong. I have to train to win – because Ivan would be proud.”