I never give up. I'm always putting up a fight, and whenever I go after my prey, I go to destroy it. -Patricky "Pitbull" Freire
As Bellator lightweight contender Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (14-6) moves to the center of the Bellator cage and stands eye to eye with opponent Derek “Barbaric” Anderson (12-2) this Friday night at Bellator 147 in San Jose, greater than two years will have passed since the two fighters last battled at Bellator 98. This time, Freire feels the outcome will be different. On that particular night in September of 2013, Derek Anderson emerged victorious via unanimous decision and the loss would punctuate a three fight losing streak for Freire, the longest of his impressive career now spanning over a decade of professional fighting. For Freire, the three fight skid came at the height of a dark period in his personal life, one which was characterized by depression and financial struggle:
"One of the first things that changed in my life was have gotten better of my depression, something I didn't even know I had at the time. Because of my losses and financial hurdles, time away from my family, I had depression which is something I don't wish to anyone. I got to be together with my family again that I didn't see for more than one and a half year. I started practicing with happiness again together with my old teammates. Having people paying attention to what I'm doing and working with me." With his family surrounding him as well as old teammates, Freire focused on battling depression and correcting all of his past mistakes in the cage as well adapting his overall fight game. Evolution became the watchword for Freire as a fighter as he focused on changing his practices and going into each subsequent fight determined to try something different. For Freire, the results began to show not only in the gym, but also in the Bellator cage as well on fight night: "I’m coming [off] of four wins in my last five fights. The results are showing, and it proves I’m on the right path."
For Freire, his most recent victory came against top lightweight Saad “Assassin” Awad (18-7) who was on a three fight win streak before encountering the evolved version of Freire. In his last victory, Freire used movement and calculated, well-timed attacks to propel himself into the Bellator lightweight title picture. Behind his drive and determination to achieve championship gold is another Freire the fans may not be privy to on fight night: Patricky, the loving father. More than anything else stands a man who wants to achieve balance between being an athlete and father; A man whose sole desire is to provide his children a better life in Brazil:
"Difficult is being an athlete and a father at the same time. That's what's really hard. [My children’s] role is tremendous. The only thing I think about is giving them a better life. To put food on the table, to have a place for them to sleep, to give them a great education. I'll only be able to keep doing it and go beyond if I excel at what I do."
With the victory over Awad, Freire knew he had placed himself in the Bellator lightweight title contender picture. However, the financial realities of needing to support his family in Brazil took precedence and resulted in him requesting another fight. Ultimately, Bellator would pair him up in this rematch fight against Derek Anderson where he looks to avenge his past loss and move forward in the Bellator lightweight division.
I believe I should be the next title challenger after winning this fight. I was basically granted a title shot after the Awad fight, but I couldn't just sit and wait for the winner of Brooks and Held to be ready. As for opponent Derek Anderson, Freire still feels the path to victory against him two years later remains on the ground. In their first fight, Freire nearly submitted Anderson in the first round but felt rusty and out of rhythm having been away from the Bellator cage nearly a year prior to that fight at Bellator 98. Having just competed in August at Bellator 141, Freire now feels the rhythm of his takedowns should be more precise and his evolution as a fighter and experience since their first tussle will provide him the momentum he needs in victory to achieve his 2016 goals: "To keep winning, whether I'm fighting for the belt or just regular fights. I just want to keep winning, winning, and winning and make people recognize me as the best."
With a victory at Bellator 147, Freire's focus and end game remains the same:
"Will Brooks. Will Brooks. And Will Brooks." Given the bad blood between Will Brooks and the Freire brothers as of late which resulted in a hotel scuffle ahead of Bellator 145, the possibility to be the one to strip Brooks of his Bellator lightweight world title is a motivating factor for Freire. So much so, Freire has been training for five rounds in anticipation of the opportunity for quite some time. "I've been training for 5 rounds for a long while now. I also pay attention to my brother's practices and observe how he behaves during the rounds and the time between them. So it has changed my way of thinking, my focus and what's on my mind on the interval between rounds when you're already tired. If you're focused and well trained and keep doing the right game, being calm and doing things right you'll achieve success." "I would be very happy with it. It would be like punching him in the mouth. What he most said on Twitter was that I'm a shitty fighter, that I'm trash, I suck, that I'm weak. It would be very satisfying to me and would show the champions need to respect their potential opponents. Just because they have the belt doesn't always mean they're the best."
Without question, Patricky "Pitbull" Freire feels the fighter you will see on Friday night at Bellator 147 will be the best version of himself to date and a signature win over Derek Anderson would certainly leave a grudge match against Will Brooks a hard matchup to resist for Bellator in the future.
Patricky take: Old vs. New Bellator: "Things changed a lot. Scott Coker makes things happen. He makes big shows, he takes risks and has success with it. And he's a much more flexible guy to negotiate with. I was able to get some good things from them. He knows how to work on this sport. He's a smart man, he's the silent type, but he's a guy that takes risks and has success with it. I believe the key to success is to take risks and he's doing it and being successful."
Patricky take: Fight camps now vs. when he first started 10 years ago: "It's totally different nowadays. We have a bigger knowledge after traveling to other countries of how the camps are done: the dedication, the professionalism. In the beginning, maybe because it was a new sport and people didn't go so deep into it, we basically just trained jiu-jitsu every day and did one Kickboxing or MMA practice every week. Didn't do strength and conditioning, did not eat properly. Today if you don't do things the right way you will be just another guy." Best of luck Patricky and thank you for your time. Thank you also to Patricky’s translator/management Matheus Aquino, Bellator’s CJ Tuttle, and Spike TV’s Alex McQuiston. |
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