Patricio "Pitbull" Freire shows off his Bellator featherweight and lightweight titles.
Bellator champ Patricio “Pitbull” sounds off against UFC
As the UFC continues to promote events without any concrete dates or locations, the concern for the UFC roster continues to grow.
Since the announcement of UFC 249 being rescheduled for May 9, One fight has already been pulled from the card. Women’s bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes, withdrew on Monday because she wanted a full fight camp ahead of her fight with Felicia Spencer. Still, the safety of the fighters remains in question. We also learned earlier that Lyman Good, who withdrew from UFC 249 against Belal Muhammad had tested positive for COVID-19. Bellator two-division champion Patricio “Pitbull” Friere now joins the list of those concerned for the safety of fighters. Friere expressed his views to Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
Friere was slated to defend his 145-pound belt at Bellator 241 in March before the event was postponed. Pitbull told Cruz he feels the current UFC situation seems “inhumane” to the fighters. That coming from a fighter whose bout against Pedro Carvalho was cancelled mere hours before the event was scheduled.
“My impression is that fighters come last, right?” Pitbull suggested.
“Fulfilling contracts come first, making money, and f**k it. Bring entertainment for those at home and f**k the fighter if he’s going to catch the virus or die. It seems inhuman.”
As a Bellator fighter, it should come as no surprise that “Pitbull” feels more secure with Bellator. As a rival to the UFC, he is confident on Bellator’s handling of COVID-19. He also stated if given a choice he would, “do what Bellator is doing.” Yet beyond fighter safety, Patricio “Pitbull” also commented on the swings the UFC has faced.
“You can’t make plans,” he insisted.
“Promotions depend on the government (and) how will they open the market. So then say when and how they will have events and fights. I believe that if the American market slowly opens, then promotions will go back to normal,” he finished.
Bellator President Scott Coker recently announced that a Hollywood Studio lot would most likely be the location of future Bellator events. Yesterday, Bellator officials postponed Bellator 244 in Chicago. The June card featured the rematch between Benson Henderson and Michael Chandler. This is the latest Bellator postponement to date.
