Heading into his lightweight tournament quarterfinal match-up with David Rickels, Patricky “Pitbull” Freire faced a lot of questions about where he stacked up in the Bellator lightweight division.
Prior to his fight with Rickels, Freire had lost in four of his last six outings, but Pitbull was able to emphatically silence his doubters at Bellator 113.
Freire finished Rickels on the feet in the early moments of the second frame, which was the first time that he won a fight via strikes since Nov. 2011. Pitbull’s return to the form was something that the Brazilian anticipated in the lead-up to the fight.
“My fight with David Rickels went according to the plan. We knew he’d try to get to the first round even by stalling a bit to have an advantage and get confidence going on the second and third rounds,” said Freire. “So I let him do that, but I remained focused and came back explosive in the second round.”
Tonight at Bellator 117, Freire will look to get back to a lightweight tournament final by topping Derek Campos, who is riding a five fight win streak, and when Pitbull steps into the cage, he plans on displaying a new version of himself.
“Today, I have the vicious aggression of the old Pitbull with the composure and experience of the new Pitbull,” said Freire. “The differences between the old and new Pitbull are that I’m more experienced and happy.”
One of the major sources for Freire’s newfound happiness is that he has moved back to a familiar situation.
“I’m back in my city with my old training partners, old friends and old coaches. I’m very happy with being close to my parents and I have much more knowledge now. I’m back to my humble gym, my humble city.”
After sizing up his the skill-set that Campos possesses, Freire was left impressed with Campos, but Pitbull still believes that he has the advantage in most aspects of the game
“Derek Campos has a good left hook and right uppercut that I watch out for. He grabs his opponents a lot, tries to dominate them on the fence and score some points there,” he said. “The advantages I see are with my striking, my Jiu-Jitsu and my takedown offense.”
Although Freire is completely focused on his fight tonight against Campos, he does admit that a re-match against Derek Anderson, who is the last fighter to beat Pitbull and will be fighting Marcin Held in the other semifinal, would make a fitting fight in the tournament final.
“Of course it would be the perfect setting for me to have a rematch with Derek Anderson in the tournament finals,” said Freire. “It would be the perfect ending to beat Derek Anderson at the final. It would be great, a big pleasure.”