MMA Junkie Radio co-host and MMA Junkie contributor Dan Tom breaks down the Bellator’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for Bellator 221.
Bellator 221 takes place Saturday at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., near Chicago. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Michael Chandler (19-4 MMA, 16-4 BMMA)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’8″ Age: 33 Weight: 155 lbs. Reach: 69″
- Last fight: Decision win over Brent Primus (Dec. 14, 2018)
- Camp: Hard Knocks 365 (Florida)
- Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
- Risk management: Fair
Supplemental info:
+ Bellator lightweight champion
+ 4x NCAA Division 1 All-American wrestler
+ 7 KO victories
+ 7 submission wins
+ 9 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
+ Improved footwork and fundamentals
+ Dangerous right hand
^ Coming forward or off the counter
+ Excellent wrestling ability
^ Explosive level-changing takedowns
+ Good transitional grappler
^ Effective ground strikes and submissions
Patricio Freire (28-4 MMA, 16-4 BMMA)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’5″ Age: 31 Weight: 155 lbs. Reach: 65″
- Last fight: Decision win over Emmanuel Sanchez(Nov 15, 2018)
- Camp: Pitbull Brothers MMA (Brazil)
- Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
- Risk management: Good
Supplemental info:
+ Bellator featherweight champion
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ 9 KO victories
+ 11 submission win
+ 9 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Explosive athlete
^ Deceptive distance closer
+ Accurate hooks and crosses
^ Coming forward or off the counter
+ Hard leg kicks
+ Underrated wrestling ability
+ Good transitional grappler
+ Dangerous guillotine choke
Point of interest: The cost of aggression
The Bellator 221 main event features a high-stakes superfight fueled by a history of bad blood between two men with aggressive sensibilities.
For current lightweight champion Michael Chandler, I will be curious to see how he manages the aggression that has proven to cost him at times.
An inherent pressure-fighter, Chandler can seldom be found taking a back step in his contests. Carrying over his athletic ability and explosiveness that he demonstrated as a wrestler on the Mizzou mats, we saw Chandler’s boxing technique make impressive strides back in his Bellator tournament run, which in turn helped him earn his first world title.
From his upgraded punch mechanics to little details like rolling under his crosses, it was clear that Chander’s trajectory was upward. And despite a few bumps in the road, the former champion seems to be firing on all cylinders after settling into his new home.
Now under the tutelage of Henri Hooft, Chandler appears to be furthering his fundamentals and footwork, moving much more fluidly in combination and even adding in leg kicks of his own. That said, Chandler is not beyond being caught or countered, something he’ll have to watch out for with his counterpart.
Enter Patricio Freire.
Despite being known as “Pitbull,” Freire has shown a much more mature and measured attitude in recent years.
Initially hitting the Bellator scene as a heavy-handed brawler with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Freire steadily sharpened his striking skills during his formative fighting years with the promotion. He quickly demonstrated the ability to work forward off of feints and pressure, as well as be able to sit back and counter when needed.
In recent times, we have seen Freire and other fighters from his camp embrace more of a karate-centric form of kickboxing. Staying lighter on his toes than you might expect to see from a power puncher, the 31-year-old can either enter space quickly to intercept his opposition or exit to safety when appropriate.
But improvements aside, Freire’s newfound role of a playing the matador could get tricky if he does not produce measurable results come the mid-to-later rounds.
Next point of interest: Staying grounded
Point of interest: Staying grounded
With emotions running high, I will be curious to see if either party (particularly Chandler) looks to return to or embrace their grappling bases when the going gets tough.
Chandler, who has gone to his wrestling less and less for a good stretch of his career, showed in his last outing that he can still go to it when he needs to. However, taking down his smaller Brazilian foe may prove to be both a tricky and increasingly difficult task to accomplish.
Training for years under the tutelage of acclaimed wrestler Eric Albarracin (wrestling coach to the likes of Henry Cejudo and Paulo Costa), Freire has been able to improve his wrestling ability by applying high-level techniques to his already impressive athleticism. Whether he’s balancing on one leg while shutting down takedowns or changing his level to dump an opponent, the 14-year pro has been increasingly difficult to control over the most recent stretch of his career.
Freire has also gotten tighter and more conservative with his jiu-jitsu prowess, playing more of a positional savvy game when the occasions call for it. Nevertheless, Freire still carries a deadly guillotine choke for overzealous opponents who are looking to grapple and can close the show with other submissions should they make themselves available.
With that in mind, I will be curious to see how Freire’s grappling style stacks up with the lightweight champ.
Chandler is a former four-time NCAA All-American standout, which is enough to make anyone exhale before tackling that challenge. But, more importantly, Chandler is a wrestler who was able to link up with some high-level MMA camps and catch wrestling coaches early on in his career.
Well schooled under the teachings of Neil Melanson (one of the more unheralded grappling coaches in MMA), we have seen the former Mizzou Tiger transform into a fine-tuned transitional grappler.
From submission defense to the small details of fighting inside of someone’s guard, Chandler shows all the fundamentals from hand-fighting to head position, which, of course, opens up the opportunity for him to land his ferocious ground and pound. Not afraid to take a back and close up a choke, Freire cannot get careless should he find himself trying to get out from underneath Chandler’s pressure-cooking game.
Next point of interest: Odds, opinion and prediction
Point of interest: Odds and opinions
The oddsmakers and public seem to be siding with the larger of the two champions, listing Chandler -240 and Freire +200 as of this writing.
Although I feel like the betting line above makes sense, I can’t help but stress how live of a dog the younger “Pitbull” brother is.
2019 may have had mixed results in its recent multi-divisional superfights, but I can’t help but imagine that Freire’s shots – as the smaller man – will arguably translate faster and slightly more potent at this weight class. If Chandler goes to the well with the same strikes too often or gets overly aggressive on his entries, then he could run into an unforgivable shot that he doesn’t see coming.
That said, after seeing Chandler retain his title by not letting his emotions get the best of him against Brent Primus last December, I can’t help but wonder what kind of edge he’ll feel over a much smaller Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt when it comes to the prospects of ground fighting. Unless Freire can catch the lightweight champ cold or consistently convince him to exchange early, then I see Chandler’s wrestling game quickly becoming his plan A once again to secure him a victory on the scorecards.
Prediction: Chandler by decision
For more on Bellator 221, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
