BURBANK, Calif. – Two-division champion Patricio Freire probably could have put up a few roadblocks to entering the Bellator featherweight grand prix. After all, he’s got two belts to defend.
But the fighter nicknamed “Pitbull” didn’t balk at putting his featherweight title on the line. There were two good reasons for doing so.
“For me being a champ-champ, I do have a lot to risk,” Freire told MMA Junkie via translator Ed Soares at a media day for his headliner opposite Juan Archuleta at Bellator 228. “But I like to face challenges, and I also like to make money.”
There’s a lot of the latter to go around with a $1 million prize offered the winner of the 16-man tournament, which kicks off Sept. 7. Freire didn’t ask questions about what would become of his lightweight title, which he took in May with a first-round knockout of Michael Chandler.
Any logjams that are the result of the tournament are not Freire’s problem at the moment.
“I know the lightweight title is going to be on hold for a little bit,” he said. “That’s all they’ve told us so far.”
And besides, Friere is convinced that he’ll come out of the tournament with two belts still around his waist. Despite an array of the promotion’s best talent at 145 pounds, the Brazilian is looking inward when it comes to his test.
“The biggest challenge isn’t any opponent,” Freire said. “It’s the challenge for myself, to come in here as a dual champion and put that up to risk.”
A win over one of Bellator’s biggest stars was further validation for Freire, who was widely cast as the underdog against Chandler.
“After knocking out a guy who everyone believed I was going to lose to, and then I go out and finish the fight in that fashion, to me, it was probably the most difficult opponent I’ve faced, but it’s probably the easiest fight I’ve had,” Freire said.
For more from Freire, watch the video above.
For more on Bellator 228, check out the MMA schedule.
