Patricky Freire meets undefeated lightweight Derek Anderson at Bellator 98, according to sources close to the situation.
Bellator kicks off its eighth season on Sept. 7 in Uncasville, Conn.
“Pitbull” Freire, a Bellator Season 4 lightweight tournament winner, returns to the cage 11 months after suffering a knockout loss in a first-round war against Eddie Alvarez. He’s lost three of his last four fights.
Anderson, who trains with UFC fighter Robbie Peralta at Xplode MMA, makes his Bellator debut with an undefeated record of 9-0 (1 no-contest). Anderson finished his opponent in all of his nine wins, six of them in the first round.
Alexander Shlemenko puts his middleweight title on the line at Bellator 98’s main event against Doug Marshall, Season 8’s middleweight tournament winner. Former featherweight champion Joe Warren returns to action for the first time in 2013 in the co-main event when he faces Nick Kirk. The main card, which airs live at Spike TV, will also feature two 185-pound quarterfinals: Brett Cooper takes on Andreas Spang, and Dan Cramer meets Perry Filkins.