Tag: Patricio Pitbull

REPORT | A.J. McKee vs. Patricio Pitbull 2 Targeted For Bellator Event In April

A.J. McKeeA featherweight championship rematch between reigning division champion and 2021 Grand Prix victor, A.J. McKee, and former two-weight champion, Patricio Pitbull is currently in the works for a Bellator event in April. At the time of publication, a location or venue for the event has yet to be determined by the organization. Initially meeting in […]

A.J. McKee

A featherweight championship rematch between reigning division champion and 2021 Grand Prix victor, A.J. McKee, and former two-weight champion, Patricio Pitbull is currently in the works for a Bellator event in April. At the time of publication, a location or venue for the event has yet to be determined by the organization.

Initially meeting in the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix final back in July of last year, the undefeated A.J. McKee snapped the memorable featherweight run of Pitbull with a first round standing guillotine choke after dropping the Brazilian with an earlier high-kick.

A.J. McKee managed to stop Patricio Pitbull with a submission win inside the opening two minutes of their clash

The victory improved A.J. McKee to 18-0 — his eighteenth under the promotion’s banner, having competed entirely for the Scott Coker-led organization since his debut back in April 2015.

For Pitbull, following his loss to the Californian, which snapped a run of seven straight victories for him, he also vacated his Bellator lightweight championship which is currently held by his elder sibling, Patricky Pitbull following a November knockout win over Peter Queally. Ariel Helwani was first to report the targeted rematch on his official Substack.

Embarking on a four-fight winning spree including his win over Pitbull throughout the Grand Prix tournament, McKee, a native of Long Beach, stopped Georgi Karakhanyan with strikes, before submitting both Derek Campos, and then former bantamweight champion, Darion Caldwell – the second of which with a Submission of the Year contender neck crank in November 2020.

32-5 as a professional, Pitbull had made his way to the tournament final with a trio of victories against former champion, Juan Archuleta, a knockout over Pedro Carvalho, and a submission win over two-time opponent, Emmanuel Sanchez – the most recent of which back in April of last year. Over the course of his professional career, Pitbull has scored 11 knockout wins to go with 12 submission victories. 

Cyborg vs. Kavanagh Booked; Patricio Freire Vacates LW Title

Cris Cyborg has a title defense targeted and Bellator’s former featherweight champion Patricio Freire is stepping down as the 155-pound champion. Cyborg is set to face Sinead Kavanagh on Nov. 12 while attempting to secure her third title defense with the promotion. Bellator president Scott Coker revealed the news on The MMA Hour on Oct. […]

Continue Reading Cyborg vs. Kavanagh Booked; Patricio Freire Vacates LW Title at MMA News.

Cris Cyborg has a title defense targeted and Bellator’s former featherweight champion Patricio Freire is stepping down as the 155-pound champion.

Cyborg is set to face Sinead Kavanagh on Nov. 12 while attempting to secure her third title defense with the promotion. Bellator president Scott Coker revealed the news on The MMA Hour on Oct. 6. As one of the greatest female combatants in mixed martial arts history, Cyborg has blasted the roof off Bellator with three-back-to-back finishes.

What came as a shock was the announcement that Freire was stepping down as the 155-pound titleholder. After losing a 145-pound fight to the now-featherweight champion AJ McKee Jr., Freire dropped his heavier strap and will pursue a rematch with McKee Jr. at featherweight instead. On Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, Patricio Freire clarified why he made the decision to vacate his 155-pound title.

“First thing is, I lost the featherweight division,” Patricio said. “For me, it doesn’t make sense to be a champion in the lightweight division. If I lost at 145 pounds, I can’t be the champion at 155.”

Following the news, Patricio Freire posted on social media and shared why he is on a quest to right the wrongs at 145-pounds.

“Honor and family come first. When I first won the LW belt it was just about revenge. It was still an honor, but with the loss at 145 I’m starting over. It’s time for the LW division to move on and for @PatrickyPitbull to have his shot. My focus is on AJ and him only. #TheMMAHour” PatrickyPitbull posted.

With Freire vacating his title, his older brother Patricky Freire will now fight Peter Queally in a rematch scheduled for a Nov. 5 showdown in Ireland. Their initial encounter resulted in a doctor’s stoppage victory for Queally. It seems Bellator is is back in the full swing of things, and the promotion will crown a new lightweight champion in just under a month.

What do you make of Freire vacating his 155-pound title?

Continue Reading Cyborg vs. Kavanagh Booked; Patricio Freire Vacates LW Title at MMA News.

Patricio Pitbull Stands Firm That McKee Did Not Finish Him At Bellator 263

Bellator Lightweight Champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire has doubled down on his claim that AJ McKee didn’t finish him at Bellator 263. In the headlining fight of the event, which went down on July 31, Pitbull, a former two-division ch…

Bellator Lightweight Champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire has doubled down on his claim that AJ McKee didn’t finish him at Bellator 263. In the headlining fight of the event, which went down on July 31, Pitbull, a former two-division champion, looked to defend his 145-pound gold in the final of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix. […]

Continue Reading Patricio Pitbull Stands Firm That McKee Did Not Finish Him At Bellator 263 at MMA News.

The Pulse of MMA: Fan Reaction To Saturday’s MMA Doubleheader

The Pulse of MMA: Fan Reactions To The Sport’s Biggest Stories Here are some of the raw reactions from the MMA community about the biggest stories around the sport. Bellator 263 Results, Sights, & Sounds: The A.J. McKee Era Begins Bellator 263 saw …

The Pulse of MMA: Fan Reactions To The Sport’s Biggest Stories Here are some of the raw reactions from the MMA community about the biggest stories around the sport. Bellator 263 Results, Sights, & Sounds: The A.J. McKee Era Begins Bellator 263 saw the crowning of a new featherweight champion when 26-year-old A.J. McKee defeated […]

Continue Reading The Pulse of MMA: Fan Reaction To Saturday’s MMA Doubleheader at MMA News.

Patricio Pitbull Praises AJ McKee, Interested In Lightweight Rematch

PitbullPatricio Pitbull wants to run things back with AJ McKee. Pitbull lost his featherweight title after suffering a first-round submission defeat to McKee in the finals of the featherweight grand prix at Bellator 263 last night. It was the Brazilian’s first defeat since 2016, but he is already looking ahead to the future. “I am […]

Pitbull

Patricio Pitbull wants to run things back with AJ McKee.

Pitbull lost his featherweight title after suffering a first-round submission defeat to McKee in the finals of the featherweight grand prix at Bellator 263 last night.

It was the Brazilian’s first defeat since 2016, but he is already looking ahead to the future.

“I am always motivated. My debut was in 2004, and now I have a lot of years fighting and dedicating myself to this game, and I am hungry every time,” Freire said post-fight (via Sherdog). “I spent a lot of years without being defeated, and today is a new day for me. It’s a different kind of feeling, and I want to rest a little bit, enjoy my son, my wife.

“But I will come back stronger. I know that. Everyone says that when they get a defeat, but I am different.”

As for McKee? Pitbull had nothing but good things to say about the new 145-pound king as he made no excuses.

“On this night, he was great,” Freire said. “He kicked my head, and he almost knocked me out, and he almost finished me. He was good, congratulations.”

However, Pitbull unsurprisingly wants a rematch and with McKee talking about moving up, the former would love to defend his lightweight crown against him.

“Before the fight I think he told somebody something like this, and it’s a good thing,” Freire added. “He beat me in the featherweight division. I know he’s big, he has trouble cutting weight. And let’s think about it. I have a belt. I’m still a world champion.”

Do you want to see them run things back at 155 pounds?

Bellator To Explore Possibility Of Pitbull vs. McKee 2 At Lightweight

Newly crowned Bellator featherweight champ A.J. McKee may soon have the chance to claim the lightweight strap, too. On Saturday, the 26-year-old took less than two minutes to demolish Patricio “Pitbull” Freire in the main card of Bellator 263, picking …

Newly crowned Bellator featherweight champ A.J. McKee may soon have the chance to claim the lightweight strap, too. On Saturday, the 26-year-old took less than two minutes to demolish Patricio “Pitbull” Freire in the main card of Bellator 263, picking up a cool million dollar check for his efforts.    McKee stunned Freire with a head […]

Continue Reading Bellator To Explore Possibility Of Pitbull vs. McKee 2 At Lightweight at MMA News.