Patricky “Pitbull” Freire to Fight AJ McKee in Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinals

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Patricky “Pitbull” Freire has lined up his next opponent…

The 37-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist will take on fellow former Bellator champion AJ McKee in the Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix quarterfinals on July 30 at the storied Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo in one of the headlining fights for a card billed as Bellator x Rizin 2.

In addition to McKee vs. Pitbull, former Bellator and Rizin bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi will face Makoto “Shinryu” Takahashi in the inaugural Bellator flyweight title fight. Kana Watanabe will take on Mexican American mixed martial artist Veta Arteaga in a battle of Bellator women’s flyweight contenders.

The card comes on the heels of a successful co-promotion between Bellator and Rizin on New Year’s Eve, which was headlined by McKee and Rizin lightweight champion Roberto “Satoshi” de Souza in a non title bout.

The event in July will be unique. The Bellator fights will take place in a cage under the Unified Rules of MMA. The Rizin fights will take place in a ring under Rizin rules, which include kicks and knees to the head of grounded opponents.

On the Rizin side, former Rizin bantamweight champion Kai Asakura will face former Bellator bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta for the vacant Rizin bantamweight title, and Mikuru Asakura will face Vugar Karamov in a Rizin featherweight title eliminator bout. The Asakura brothers are two of Rizin’s top stars, both popular YouTubers in Japan. Bellator’s Tofiq Musayev will also be on the Rizin portion of the event.

McKee (20-1) has won two straight at lightweight since dropping the Bellator featherweight title to Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, the brother of Patricky. A native of California, McKee, 28, has the most stoppage victories (13) and most submissions wins in Bellator history (7). He won the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix in 2021, beating Patricio in the finals.

Patricky (24-11) lost the Bellator lightweight title to current champion Usman Nurmagomedov in November. The Brazilian-born striker has dropped three of four. Patricky is tied for the most knockout wins in Bellator history (10) with Michael “Venom” Page.

The McKee vs. Pitbull winner will face Alexandr Shabliy in the grand prix semifinals.

Amanda Serrano to Fight Heather Hardy in Highly Anticipated Rematch

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Amanda Serrano will be facing an old rival…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican professional boxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler will put her undisputed featherweight title on the line against Heather Hardy in the co-main event of the Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz card on August 5 in Dallas, according to ESPN.

Serrano beat Hardy, her fellow Brooklyn resident, in a grueling unanimous decision victory in 2019 to win the WBO women’s featherweight belt.

With a win in August, Serrano will seek a rematch with Katie Taylor in Taylor’s home country of Ireland. The two fought last year in what was the first-ever women’s headliner at Madison Square Garden and one of the biggest women’s boxing matches ever. Serrano is promoted by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.

“Amanda is one of the most decorated and elite athletes ever and is on path to become the winningest female boxer of all time,” Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said in a statement. “After some much-needed recovery time, Amanda is excited to return to the ring and remind fans why she is the most devastating puncher in women’s boxing. If Amanda prevails in the fight, the plan is to immediately pursue the rematch with Katie Taylor in Ireland.”

Serrano (44-2-1) has won two straight since falling to Taylor in a close split decision in April 2022. She is the first Puerto Rican-born undisputed world champion in boxing history. Serrano has 30 knockout victories in her career and has lost just once — the Taylor fight — in 11 years. She has won titles in seven different weight divisions.

“I am the undisputed featherweight champion today because Heather Hardy agreed to fight me in 2019 for her WBO title,” Serrano said. “That was the first step in my current run at featherweight. It’s only right that I give her the opportunity to earn it back. I’m excited to once again share the card with Jake and put on an exciting war.”

Hardy (24-2, 1 NC) has won two straight, most recently a majority decision win over Taynna Cardoso in February. “The Heat,” who is promoted by Lou DiBella, had her undefeated record spoiled by Serrano in 2019. Hardy, 41, has also competed in MMA under the Bellator banner. She was the WBO women’s featherweight champion in 2018 and 2019.

“I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity,” Hardy said. “In 2021, I came back to boxing with a renewed passion for the sport. My late trainer told me, the day before he died, that 2023 would be my year. Now, I have the opportunity to prove him right and become an undisputed champion. Thank you to Amanda and team for keeping their word on giving me the rematch, but come fight night, I only have winning on my mind and stealing the show from Jake Paul and Nate Diaz.”

Cris Cyborg Re-Signs with Bellator MMA

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Cris Cyborg is staying put…

Bellator MMA has announced that it has re-signed the 37-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist, one of the greatest women’s MMA fighters of all time, to a new, multi-fight contract.

Cyborg had been a free agent since last summer, though she has remained the Bellator women’s featherweight champion. She competed in two boxing matches during her time out of contract, winning both.

While Cyborg returning to Bellator has always been the most likely scenario, she was entertaining other opportunities and even attended a PFL event in person recently.

PFL has been trying to make a huge fight between Cyborg and two-time PFL women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison for more than a year.

Cyborg re-signing with Bellator doesn’t necessarily completely harpoon that fight, because PFL has expressed a willingness to co-promote with Bellator to make it happen.

“After receiving multiple offers from several promotions, I’m very happy that I was able to come to terms with Bellator and remain the face of their women’s featherweight division,” Cyborg said in a statement. “Scott Coker is a promoter that I’ve worked with and respected for many years. He’s done so much to further women’s MMA and give us a platform to showcase our skills. When making this decision, it was important to me that I was signing with the organization that I felt had the biggest names and the top talent at 145 pounds for me to challenge myself against. There is no question that all the top female featherweights are signed with Bellator and I can’t wait to get back in there and defend my belt.”

Bellator did note in its news release that Cyborg re-signing sets her up for title defenses against Cat Zingano and Sara McMann, two former UFC title challengers who are undefeated since signing with the promotion.

Cyborg (26-2, 1 NC) has lost just once since her pro debut in 2005, a knockout defeat to UFC double champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 232 in December 2018. She lives and trains in California and has been Bellator women’s featherweight champion since 2020 and has four successful title defenses. Cyborg is the only fighter to ever win championships in four different major promotions: the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce and Invicta FC.

ESPN has her ranked No. 4 pound-for-pound in its women’s MMA rankings.

Roberto “Satoshi” de Souza to Fight AJ McKee in Bellator vs. Rizin Card on New Year’s Eve

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Roberto “Satoshi” de Souza will ring in the New Year in the ring…

The 33-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist, Rizin’s lightweight champion, will fight in an ambitious Bellator vs. Rizin card on New Year’s Eve.

de Souza will fight Bellator star AJ McKee in the main event of the December 31 card at Japan’s Saitama Super Arena. That will be a nontitle matchup.

In the co-main event, it will be both promotion’s featherweight champions — Bellator’s Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and Rizin’s Kleber Koike Erbst — facing off in a superfight.

Also on the card, former Bellator and current Rizin bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi will face Ultimate Fighter veteran Hiromasa Ougikubo, and former Bellator bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta will meet ROAD FC featherweight champion Soo Chul Kim in a bantamweight bout.

All the fights on the card will take place in a ring, rather than a cage, as is tradition in Japanese MMA. The bouts will be held under Rizin rules and not the Unified Rules of MMA, meaning kicks and knees to the head of grounded opponents will be legal. This card is the last addition of an annual big MMA event in Japan on New Year’s Eve.

De Souza (14-1), a Brazilian-born fighter who lives in Japan, has won five straight and is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist.

Freire (34-5) is the greatest fighter in Bellator history, a three-time Bellator featherweight champion and former Bellator lightweight champion. The Brazilian MMA fighter has won nine of his last 10 fights.

Koike (31-5-1), a 33-year-old Brazilian-born fighter who lives and trains in Japan, has won seven straight and has 27 submission finishes in 31 career wins.

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire Defeats Adam Borics to Retain Bellator Featherweight Title

Posted on October 2, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire continues his winning ways…

The 35-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist beat Adam Borics via one-sided unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 50-45) in the main event of Bellator 286 on Saturday night at Long Beach Arena to maintain his stranglehold on the Bellator featherweight division.

“Pitbull” retained his 145-pound belt with the victory and now has a total of eight title defenses across three reigns.

Freire, one of the best MMA fighters ever to not have competed in the UFC, first won the title in 2014. Saturday’s fight marked his first defense of the current reign.

ESPN has “Pitbull” ranked No. 3 in the world at featherweight. His longevity and consistency as an elite fighter have been a marvel.

Freire was better in all aspects of MMA on Saturday night. He landed some clean counter combinations on Borics early, landed some takedowns and got onto Borics’ back in the third round after somehow catching a Borics flying knee and using it for a mat return.

Borics took Freire down in the fifth round but wasn’t able to do much with it, and “Pitbull” ended up sweeping using a Kimura submission attempt.

Freire (34-5) has won two in a row and nine of his past 10 fights, the only loss in that stretch coming to rival AJ McKee. The Brazilian-born fighter is also the former Bellator lightweight champion, courtesy of a knockout win over current UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler in 2019. Freire arguably has the best résumé in Bellator history.

“Maybe I’ll go down to the bantamweight division and take that belt,” Freire said of his potential next move.

Borics (18-2), 29, had a four-fight winning streak snapped. A Hungarian-born fighter who trains out of Kill Cliff FC in Florida, he fell to 9-2 in his Bellator career.

Cris Cyborg to Make Professional Boxing Debut Against Simone de Silva

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Cris Cyborg is switching sports…

The 37-year-old mixed martial artist’s next fight won’t be inside an MMA cage — it’ll be in a boxing ring against Simone de Silva.

Cyborg, one of the best women’s MMA fighters of all time, said on her “The Catchup” YouTube show Monday that was finalizing a contract for her professional boxing debut.

By Wednesday, that was done.

Cyborg shared on Instagram that she would be fighting de Silva at 154 pounds in the main event of a card on Sept. 25 in Cyborg’s hometown of Curitiba, Brazil.

“It’s one of my dreams,” the 37-year-old Cyborg, currently the Bellator women’s featherweight champion, said of boxing.

The fight will be an eight-round boxing match with two-minute rounds and contested with 8-ounce gloves.

Cyborg is currently a restricted free agent in an exclusive negotiating period with Bellator, and sources said Bellator president Scott Coker has given his support for this boxing match.

PFL had made public overtures about putting together a fight between Cyborg and the two-time Olympic judo gold medalist, with the implication that PFL could potentially sign Cyborg as a free agent.

Cyborg said she has not spoken with PFL at all at this point.

“No, we never have any talks with PFL,” Cyborg said. “We never talked about this fight. I know there’s a lot of talk on the internet about making this fight happens in different ways, but we’ve never had the talk about anything.”

Cyborg did not say she is disinterested in the Harrison matchup, but Cyborg has always been vocal about the positives of her relationship with Coker and Bellator, which she has touted as having the best women’s featherweight division in MMA.

Cyborg said on the show that if Cyborg vs. Harrison happens while she is still with

Bellator, that would be “great.”

“I’m open to the best fights for my fans,” Cyborg said.

Cyborg (26-2, 1 NC), whose real name is Cristiane Justino, is a former UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC women’s featherweight champion. She has four Bellator title defenses and has won six straight fights overall. Cyborg’s only loss since her pro debut in 2005 was to current UFC double champion Amanda Nunes in 2018.

Valerie Loureda Signs Multiyear Contract with WWE

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a whole new world for Valerie Loureda.

The 23-year-old Cuban American mixed martial artist, wrestler and pro fighter, a top women’s MMA prospect with Bellator, has signed a multiyear contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE), according to ESPN.

Loureda plans to move to Orlando from Miami and report to the WWE Performance Center on July 19. She’ll remain under contract with Bellator, the promotion told ESPN in a statement, but now she’ll be a full-time WWE athlete.

“I’m an entertainer,” Loureda said “I love glamour. I love production, I love storytelling. And when I saw the WWE, I realized this is everything I’m good at in one place. Not only that, but I saw the opportunity to be the first Cuban American woman to be a WWE superstar.”

Loureda said she attended WrestleMania and immediately fell in love with the glitz and spectacle of WWE, comparing it to the Super Bowl. She had a tryout in late April and early May with WWE and became so addicted with performing in the ring that she didn’t want to leave even though she hadn’t been signed yet. Loureda said she actually called her manager, Abe Kawa of First Round Management, crying.

“I said, ‘Abraham, I know I don’t have a contract, but is there any way I can stay here? I’m losing a week of training,'” Loureda said. “I just want to get better.”

WWE coaches praised Loureda’s ability, according to ESPN, and view her as a high-ceiling talent after her tryout, which included a match. Loureda signed with WWE soon after. She will remain under Bellator contract, though, per promotion president Scott Coker.

“Valerie Loureda is a very young and talented athlete who can accomplish plenty in MMA for years to come, but for now we wish her the best of luck as she pursues her dream of becoming a WWE Superstar,” Coker told ESPN in a statement. “She will remain an active and under contract fighter with Bellator, and we look forward to welcoming her back into the cage in the near future. We take great pride in allowing our athletes to test themselves in additional arenas such as boxing and pro wrestling.”

Up until the last few months, Loureda said she was committed to her MMA career with Bellator. But earlier this year, Loureda’s manager was having a conversation with former UFC executive James Kimball about WWE’s name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with AJ Ferrari, a college wrestler repped by First Round. Kawa brought up Loureda and Kimball, WWE’s senior vice president of global talent strategy & development, was interested.

Kimball suggested Kawa bring Loureda to WrestleMania, but Loureda initially was not interested. She wanted to focus on her MMA career.

“I had to beg her to come out to WrestleMania with me,” Kawa said. “I kept telling her over and over again, just trust me. When you come see this, this is you. I would never take you to something that’s not you. This is everything for you. You will fall in love with it. And she did.”

Loureda said she was sold almost instantly when she arrived at AT&T Stadium in Texas for WrestleMania 38 in early April.

“The moment I stepped into the suite and I saw the WWE organization, the professionalism and the production, I fell in love,” Loureda said. “I had goosebumps like the first time I saw MMA on the TV.”

Loureda, who is 4-1 as a pro fighter and projected to be a future star for Bellator, said her goal is to make NXT television by the end of the year and be on the WWE main roster within one year.

“I have big goals and I’m a little crazy,” Loureda said with a laugh. … “I just know what I’m gonna be able to do in the WWE. There’s no limits. I’m limitless.”

Patricio Freire Outlasts AJ McKee to Reclaim Bellator Featherweight Title

Posted on April 16, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Patricio Freire has his title back…

The 34-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist, Bellator‘s franchise fighter, gutted out a unanimous decision win (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) over previously undefeated prodigy AJ McKee to win back the featherweight title in the main event of Bellator 277 on Friday night in San Jose, California.

McKee beat Freire, known as “Pitbull,” for the title via submission in just 1:57 of the first round last July.

Freire is now a three-time Bellator featherweight champion.

“That day, I came in peace,” Freire said, referring to his loss to McKee last summer. “Today, I came for war. And I’m bringing the belt home.”

It was a hard-fought, close battle between two of the best fighters in the world outside the UFC. ESPN had McKee ranked No. 3 and “Pitbull” ranked No. 5 in the world at featherweight coming in.

There was plenty of talk leading into this fight about how McKee, a 27-year-old whom many believe is a future superstar, would fare in a fight with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

But “Pitbull” silenced those discussions Friday night. He did solid work in the early rounds, peppering McKee with leg kicks and punching combinations. In the third, he dropped McKee briefly with an overhand right and grabbed a tight guillotine.

McKee was able to escape that submission and do some of his best work in the late rounds. McKee landed solid combinations in the fourth round and several takedowns in the fifth, nearly getting Freire’s back at one point. In the closing minutes, McKee did his most damage, landing combos with his hands, a takedown and a hard elbow against the cage.

“He’s a tough guy,” Freire said. “He’s a great opponent. It was a hard fight to me.”

Freire (33-5) has won eight of his past nine bouts, including a 61-second knockout of current UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler at lightweight back in 2019.

The Brazil native held both the Bellator featherweight and lightweight titles from 2019 to 2021. He lost the featherweight belt to McKee and relinquished the lightweight gold last November to focus on featherweight.

Freire has the most wins (21), the most featherweight wins (20) and the most title fight wins (11) in Bellator history.

Ricky Bandejas to Fight Ray Borg in Eagle FC 46 Next Month

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Ricky Bandejas is readying for a fight…

The 30-year-old Latino mixed martial artist will be among the fighters set to take part in Eagle FC‘s return to the United States.

Bandejas will fight against former UFC title challenger Ray Borg in a bantamweight bout and Rizvan Kuniev will defend his heavyweight title against UFC veteran Anthony Hamilton at Eagle FC 46 on March 11 in Miami, according to promoter Khabib Nurmagomedov.

This will be the first time Kuniev will defend the Eagle title on United States soil.

Bandejas (15-6) has won two of his last three fights with Combate Global. The New Jersey native beat Conor McGregor protégé James Gallagher under the Bellator banner in 2018.

Borg (15-5), known as The Tazmexican Devil, has won two straight after departing the UFC. Most recently, the Mexico native defeated Cody Gibson via unanimous decision last month at Eagle FC 44.

Borg, still just 28 years old, challenged Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight title at UFC 216 in October 2017. He struggled with personal issues, including a brain illness affecting his infant son Anthony, and weight-cutting difficulties in the UFC before being released in 2020.

Cris Cyborg Knocks Out Sinead Kavanagh to Retain Bellator’s Women’s Featherweight Title

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Less than two minutes… That’s the time it took Cris Cyborg to roll past her latest opponent.

The 36-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist, Bellator’s women’s featherweight champion, was as dominant as ever in defending her belt for the third time, knocking out Sinead Kavanagh in the first round of the Bellator 271 main event on Friday night in Hollywood, Florida.

This fight looked like most of the fights during Cyborg’s 16-year pro career. She came out blitzing Kavanagh, trapping her against the cage and unleashing punches that within the first minute had bloodied her face.

Kavanagh (7-5), a 35-year-old from Ireland who trains in the same SBG Dublin gym as Conor McGregor, did manage to get her back off the cage and, relying on her background as an amateur boxer, she began trading punches with Cyborg, which wasn’t the best idea.

A right hand wobbled the challenger and another right sent her crashing to the canvas, flat on her back. Referee Jason Herzog immediately jumped in to wave off the fight as a knockout at 1 minute, 32 seconds of Round 1.

For Cyborg (25-2, 1 NC), a former 145-pound champion in the UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC promotions, it was her fifth straight win and the 11th first-round knockout of her career.

Cyborg, who lives and trains in Southern California, has just one loss in her past 27 fights, a run of success that extends back to her pro MMA debut in 2005.

In an interview afterward inside the cage, Cyborg, who was a 25-1 betting favorite, smiled as she apologized to her coaches.

“I’m sorry, my team,” she said. “I didn’t do anything that we planned.”

Then Cyborg put this virtuosic performance behind her and shifted her focus to her next title defense. She mentioned that she had called for a fight with former UFC title challenger Cat Zingano, who has won two fights since signing with Bellator two years ago.

“But I leave it to Scott Coker,” Cyborg said, referring to the Bellator president. “I don’t choose fights.”

However, a fight might end up choosing her. Cyborg was reminded that among those in the crowd at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino was two-time PFL lightweight champion Kayla Harrison, who is a free agent and has been checking out her options. She was at UFC 268 last Saturday. On Friday night, she was at Bellator 271.

“Kayla, thanks for coming to the fights. I really appreciate you’re here,” Cyborg said to Harrison, a 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist in judo. “I’m here. If you want to fight me one day, it’s gonna be a great fight.”

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