https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Niq8yZ-1qs Weight Class: Featherweight The younger of the "Pitbill brothers" (his older brother, Patricky, also fights for Bellator), Patrício Freire is one of the most exciting of Bellator's home-grown talents. With losses to only Bellator Champions Pat Curran and Joe Warren on his record, the younger Pitbull holds notable wins over Wilson Reis (twice), Diego Nunes, Justin Wilcox, Daniel Straus, and Georgi Karakhanyan, the current WSOF featherweight champion. A two-time Bellator tournament winner, Freire was expected to face Pat Curran earlier this month for the belt, only to see Curran withdraw due to injury. This adds fuel to an already volatile situation with Patrício in Bellator. Earlier this year, he embarked on a feud with the company that lasted several months, due to the promotion skipping over him to award Pat Curran a shot at reclaiming his lost title against Daniel Straus. In a statement to MMA Junkie, he voiced his displeasure, insisting he should have had the shot, and stated that "if Bellator doesnt believe in me, if they dont want me to be champion and to do things right, Id like to just ask them to let me out of my contract. That was January. By this Spring, it looked as if fences were mended, as Freire was tapped to face Curran, who had won his belt back from Straus. Then Curran pulled out of the bout with injury, and Pitbull is stuck waiting yet again.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.