Patricio “Pitbull” Freire successfully made weight (134.2) in his first drop to Bantamweight as he gears up to challenge division kingpin, Sergio Pettis, this Friday (June 16, 2023) in the co-main event of Bellator 297 in Chicago, Illinois. With a win, “Pitbull” will become the promotion’s first-ever, three-division champion having already won the Lightweight and Featherweight titles.
But, the Brazilian bomber isn’t ready to stop there because the former “champ-champ” says he wants to further add to his resume and cement his legacy in the history books by attempting to win the Flyweight title, too.
“It’s just the beginning for me, I [won’t be] satisfied – I want more,” Pitbull said in a recent interview with MMA Fighting. “I can be a champion of other organizations, or perhaps go after a fourth division title.
“I’ll be honest with you, that hadn’t crossed my mind until they made the Flyweight title of Bellator, and right now, I’m waiting for the same thing as the Flyweights as my gym are waiting for, and I’m eating more than them, and I’m strong,” he continued. “I’m trimmed, I have a lot of energy left, and I work with the best physiologist there is.”
“Pitbull” looked shredded in his first attempt to hit the 135-pound limit after a career spent at 145 and 155 pounds. According to the Brazilian bomber, it’s the fact that he doesn’t blow up in between fights that makes his cuts manageable. That’s why he says dropping down to 125 pounds in the near future isn’t out of the question.
Here’s how he looked making the Bantamweight threshold earlier today:
“My weight cuts have been perfect,” Freire said. “I’m always staying below the featherweight limits without even having to use the bathtub, and we predict that this is gonna be an easy, very good weight cut to 135, as well. So, why not?
“The belt is right there for the taking, so we could do it,” he continued. “But. right now, the focus is on the task ahead of me. Sergio is dangerous, and I’m not looking past him at all. I have a great challenge to conquer right now, but if I get through that, after I’m done, why not go for [the 125-pound title]?”
Bellator announced the creation of the men’s Flyweight division earlier this year and Kyoji Horiguchi will face Makoto “Shinryu” Takahashi for the inaugural belt at Bellator MMA x RIZIN on July 30, 2023, inside the famed Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
In the immediate future, “Pitbull” has his hands full against Pettis, who is eying his first defense of the 135-pound belt after winning the title in Dec. 2021 by knocking out the aforementioned Kyji Horiguchi (see it again here).
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This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
