Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Patricio Pitbull says his Bellator 241 opponent Pedro Carvalho tries too hard to act like SBG Ireland teammate Conor McGregor.
Patricio “Pitbull” Freire will defend his featherweight crown against Pedro Carvalho, not Conor McGregor, in the quarter finals of the Featherweight Grand Prix at Bellator 241.
“Every fight I see as a big fight. Especially when I’m the champion and as long as I’m the champion, which I hope will be for a long time, every fight will be a big fight,” Freire told Bloody Elbow. “With Pedro, everyone is talking about him being a teammate of Conor McGregor. He talks like McGregor, he trains like McGregor, he dressed like McGregor and he thinks he fights like McGregor. Some people seem to think that too. It adds more to the fight.”
Should Freire beat Carvalho, he will fight the winner of Emmanuel Sanchez vs. Daniel Weichel in the semi-finals. The winner of that bout will fight the winner of A.J. McKee vs. Darrion Caldwell in the finals. Caldwell has accused Freire of ducking him, and Bellator President Scott Coker expressed disappointment that “Pitbull” did not choose to fight Caldwell. Freire has maintained that he wanted the latest possible fight, but also argued that former bantamweight champion Caldwell is the least deserving Grand Prix contender.
“He was coming from two losses to a flyweight, so at the time I had to choose, he was the least deserving contender,” Freire argued. “Everyone else deserved it more than him because they were coming off wins in the division.”
When asked who he would rather face in the finals, Freire said both McKee and Caldwell are on his hit list, but leaned towards Caldwell.
“They both talk trash and there is something special reserved for them. We’ll meet sometime,” the champ-champ said. “In this fight, AJ is more of a striker and Caldwell is more of a grappler. I think Caldwell will edge it in this one. I won’t be surprised if AJ knocks him out in the first round, but I think it is more likely that Caldwell will ride a decision.”
Freire is also the Bellator lightweight champion and expects to defend his lightweight strap following the conclusion of the Featherweight Grand Prix. He was recently called out by former lightweight champion Brent Primus, but “Pitbull” believes Primus has more work to do.
“I think he is a good fighter, he can beat anyone. He has a very good skill-set but I don’t think he is better than me anywhere… The only thing he has over me is size and weight,” Freire argued. “There are other people in front of him, like Ben Henderson and my brother, who have more wins in sequence in the division. Brett Primus just lost his title… I don’t think he would be my number one priority when it comes time to defend the belt.”
Freire vs. Carvalho headlines Bellator 241 on Friday, March 13. The event also boasts Paul Daley vs. Sabah Homasi, Matt Mitrione vs. Ronny Markes, and fights featuring Nick Newell and Kevin Ferguson Jr. a.k.a. “Baby Slice”.