Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (16-8) who, with his brother Patricio, have become synonymous with Bellator MMA. The Lightweight Contender is coming off a loss to division champion Michael Chandler and is seeking redemption after Bellator 157: Dynamite 2.
The 31-year-old Natal, Brazil native continues to press forward as he faces former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion, “The Punk” Josh Thomson during the co-main event at Bellator 172 at the Shark Tank in San Jose, CA.
“He’s going to respect me and if he doesn’t, he will learn in the worst way. He knows how fast my hands are and how good I am at striking. He know I’m a BJJ black belt and thinks it will be safer to take this fight to the ground because he would be happier to grapple instead of strike with me,” said Pitbull in a phone interview this afternoon.
Pitbull is looking to keep more notches in the win column as he is as tenacious as he is respectful of Thomson However, he also knows that a victory over the San Jose hometown boy will put him right back into title contention.
“He is a very dangerous guy, he has great conditioning and experienced. I cannot not have respect for him. He is a legend and someone I can’t take anything away from him because it is the biggest fight of my career,” said Pitbull.
Luckily, Pitbull is not letting the main event blind him from his goal as MMA legend, “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko makes his return to the cage against Matt Mitrione.
Bellator 172 takes place live from the SAP Center in San Jose, CA on Saturday February 18, 2017, beginning at 9 p.m. E.T.