Patricky Freire admits that he “overestimated” the undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov ahead of their Bellator 288 title fight in Chicago.
He's undefeated for a reason. Great takedown from @UsmanNmgdv.#Bellator288 LIVE on @SHOsports
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— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) November 19, 2022
Patricky Freire Believes He Could’ve Done More at Bellator 288
The former Bellator lightweight champion is critical of his performance this past weekend. In an interview with Super Lutas, he expressed that he could’ve done more to retain his title. He also said that he respected Nurmagomedov’s skills too much and did not apply the necessary pressure in the early rounds.
“When I stepped out of the cage, I knew exactly what I had done wrong,” Freire said. “What I was unable to do in the fight. I’ve only watched the fight once, It went down exactly like I had pictured. I could do almost nothing. I overestimated that guy. I waited too long for him to do something. He just kept his distance, threw some kicks and kept moving well. It was a smart strategy and he was able to pull it off. I couldn’t do my thing. I was too cautious.”
“I should have started the fight the same way I started the fifth round,” Freire said. “I shouldn’t have respected him at all. I felt like he was not all that he was made out to be. I actually thought his kicks were going to be more powerful.” (h/t Bloody Elbow)
Freire (24-11) won the then-vacant lightweight title against Peter Queally by second-round TKO at Bellator 270. He is currently tied (10) with Michael “Venom” Page for the most finishes in Bellator history. He is also tied (15) with Michael Chandler for most wins in the Bellator lightweight division’s history.