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UNCASVILLE, Connecticut – Bellator CEO Scott Coker agrees with featherweight champion Patricio Freire’s idea – Bellator has the world’s best 145-pound fighter.
After Freire (31-4 MMA, 19-4 BMMA) flattened SBG Ireland product Pedro Carvalho with 2:10 punches in the first round, “Pitbull” proclaimed himself the true king of the featherweight. .
“I’m not the best featherweight in Bellator. I’m the best featherweight in the world, ”Freire told MMA Junkie at a post-fight press conference. “No other featherweight has my hands. I am complete. Now I have 11 KO’s and 11 submissions. There is no other featherweight in the world as complete as me. “
Speaking to MMA Junkie after the post-fight press conference, Coker echoed his champion’s claims and likened “Pitbull” to a legendary former boxing world champion.
“We’re lucky to have him,” Coker said. “He’s been a great fighter for us. He has been a great ambassador for us. He was there even long before me. I’ll tell you what. I looked back and saw a lot of his old clips last week just looking around our youtube channels and in different places. I said, ‘This guy reminds me of a young Roberto Duran’ if we were to put him in a boxing sense, right? He’s a young Roberto Duran. He is not afraid of anyone. He will bring it. I think he is the best. Now? He is the best featherweight in the world. “
With the victory over Carvalho (11-4 MMA, 4-1 BMMA), Freire advances to the semi-final of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix. He will face Emmanuel Sanchez, who earlier won Thursday’s card over Daniel Weichel by unanimous decision.
“I watched the whole fight (from Emmanuel),” Freire said. “I was warming up for my fight. Sanchez looked good. He was very dynamic. I like his style (like) I say in the cage. But I am better than him. He knows it.
A specific date has not been announced for the Bellator’s featherweight semi-final between Freire and Sanchez (20-4 MMA, 12-3 BMMA), but Coker has given MMA Junkie a timeline showing when fans can go. expect to see the semi-finals and championship rounds unfold.
“I’ll try to put this fight in the cage as soon as possible,” Coker said. “We would like to make the final in April or May. It would be a good time, I think. If we could get this fight to the cage at the end of January. I think that would be ideal for us. Then you would have February and March. April we would have the final. It is long overdue. Let’s put it this way.
The Bellator 252 took place Thursday at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card aired on CBS Sports Network after preliminaries on MMA Junkie.
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