Fighter Profile: Patrício Pitbull

Patrício Freire better known to MMA fans as Patrício Pitbull will return to the Bellator Cage to try to win back his Featherweight title against the man who took it from him the undefeated A.J. McKee. Freire is one of Bellator’s biggest stars he and his older brother Patricky are two of the most feared fighters on the second biggest MMA promtion’s roster.

Freire was born July 7, 1987 in Natal, Brazil. Freire is a grappler who took interest in the art, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu when he was very young as a way to deal with his small size. He later achieved Black Belt in the art. Freire trained at the world famous Chute Boxe Academy to get his striking in top form while he was a teenager. It was here that Frier would train alongside notable MMA fighters including Wanderlei Silva Mauricio and Murilo Rua and Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos. Freire would then go on to take his first MMA fight at age 16.

Freire faced off against Dida Dida in March of 2004 in his MMA debut. Freire would win the bout in round 1 by TKO by Corner Stoppage. He’d then face off against Marlon Silva he’d win the bout by Unanimous Decision. Freire would then fight Tarcisio Jardim, winning by Submission (Guillotine Choke.) Joao Paulo Rodrigues would be next for The young Pitbull who would win the Bout via Submission (Guillotine Choke.) He’d then face Rafael Gargula in April of 2006 winning by Submission(Armbar) moving his record to a perfect 5-0. Pitbull would then face Jadyson Costa winning the bout by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke.) Freire would win his next fight with a leg attack, a Submission (Heel Hook.) He’d win his next five fights before moving to Bellator.

Freire would face William Romero in his Bellator debut, Pitbull would win the bout with a Heel Hook in the first round. He’d then face Wilson Reis by Unanimous Decision. He’d then take his first loss of his career and in Bellator to Joe Warren in a Split Decision. He’d get back into the win Column against Georgi Karakhanyan via TKO (Punches.) He’d then face Wilson Reis winning the bout by KO (Punches.) He’d then face Daniel Straus getting the Nod from all of the judges. He’d then fight for the Bellator Featherweight title but would lose the bout in a Split Decision.

Friere would win his next four fights before fighting again for the Feather weight title he’d win the title this time against Pat Curran in September of 2014 He’d defend the belt twice before losing it to Daniel Straus in November 2015 at Bellator 145. He’d win his next fight against Henry Corrales before moving up to Lightweight to face Benson Henderson due to a Leg injury. He’d then get his rematch with Daniel Straus Winning back his Featherweight Title at Bellator 178 in April of 2017 He’d defend that belt twice before before moving up to Lightweight where he captured the Bellator Lightweight Title from Michael Chandler. He’d defend his Featherweight title twice more before losing the belt to A.J. McKee. He’d also vacate the Lightweight Title.

He hopes to regain the Bellator Featherweight title later this month. It’ll be interesting to see who comes out of this rematch on top.

Fighter Profile: Gegard Mousasi

Gegard Mousasi is one of the most Underrated fighters on the Bellator roster and in MMA as a whole. On Friday night he made a successful second title defense at Bellator Dublin when he faced off against a then undefeated Austin Vanderford. Mousasi now holds an impressive 49-7-2 record. The Kickboxer and Judo Black Belt has shown that he is at his best in the Bellator Cage where he has faced some of the most talented fighters outside of The UFC, the two time Bellator and former Strikeforce champ has shown amazing striking prowess with 28 Knockout and 12 Submission victories.

Mousasi was born August 1, 1985 in Tehran, Iran during the Iran-Iraq war. He spent time in a refugee camp before moving to Leiden Netherlands where he gained a passion for martial arts first in Judo and later in Boxing. Mousasi became an amatuer boxing champion with an impressive 12-1 record nine of those fights coming by way of knockout. He’d eventually find his way into Kickboxing with a perfect 5-0 record under both K-1 and Muay Thai rules He’d then turn his focus to Mixed Martial Arts where he could combine his skill in striking and judo.

Mousasi made his MMA debut in April 2003 when he faced off against Daniel Spek winning by TKO (Punches.) He’d then face Xander Nel winning by TKO (punches.) He’d then face Gilson Ferreira and this would be a draw for the young fighter who now held a 2-0-1 record. Mousasi would then focus his efforts on Niko Puhakka winning by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in September of 2004. He’d fight in various promotions before ending up in Pride, he’d then also fight for Dream winning the Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 winning the belt by Submission (Triangle Choke.) He’d also fight for Strikeforce capturing the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship.

When the UFC purchased Strikeforce Mousasi would move to the UFC with 19 other Strikeforce athletes. Mousasi would make his UFC debut against Ilir Latifi winning by Unanimous Decision in April of 2013. He’d then face Lyoto Machida losing by Unanimous Decision. Mark Muñoz would be next for Mousasi he’d win by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke.) He’d fight for the promotion for 4 more years with a record of 9-3 for the promotion. He’d then Join Bellator where he’d win the Middleweight world title with one successful title defense the first time and two title defenses.

We can’t wait to see who faces Mousasi next when he defends his title for a third time. We hope the MMA veteran can stay atop the fight game as long as possible.

Three Great MMA Fights Coming Up In December

A total knockout: Houston's Derrick Lewis has a chance to break a UFC record in his hometown — Lewis celebrates after a win. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Before The New Year the UFC and Bellator have put together some great cards and on those cards there are some killer fights that are coming straight to you the fan. Whether it be fights from the UFC Apex or from Bellator’s pandemic setup in Mohegan Sun it’s been another odd year for fight fans, but things are sort of getting back to normal with awesome cards. In this article we’ll cover fights that are non PPV cards.

Friday December 3: Sergio Pettis vs Kyoji Horiguchi

Former UFC fighter Sergio Pettis will be making his first Bantamweight title defense against Kyoji Horiguchi. Pettis is on a four fight win streak winning every fight he’s participated in while signed to Bellator. Pettis has a 21-5 record and some of his losses have been to great fighters like Henry Cejudo and Rob Font and from those loses he built and came back better. Horiguchi has an impressive 29-3 record and he will be making his promotional debut for Bellator on Friday. It should be an interesting match up.

Saturday December 4th: Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo

Former Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo has had quite the career, but since moving to Bantamweight Aldo has had a tough go of things winning two of his last four fights including losses to Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan. Rob Font’s stock is climbing winning his last four fights the Leominster, MA native is currently ranked fourth in the Bantamweight division. Font is an absolute killer with knock out power and submission expertise. Font is a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and hopefully this will be enough to beat Aldo who is a Black Belt in BJJ.

Saturday December 18th: Derrick Lewis vs Chris Daukaus

Derrick Lewis will be returning to the UFC Octagon on December 18th. Lewis is coming off a loss to Ciryl Gane for the Heavyweight Interim Title. Before his loss to Gane he was riding a four fight win streak. Lewis is currently ranked third in the Heavyweight division. Derrick Lewis is a fan favorite, and it’s awesome we get to see him fight for a final time in 2021. Chris Daukaus is riding a five fight win streak he made his promotional debut in 2020 at UFC 252. Since joining the promotion he has gone 4-0. Daukaus is currently a Philadelphia Police Officer when not fighting. He is also the older brother of fellow UFC fighter Kyle Daukaus.

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What’s Next For Cris Cyborg?

Cris Cyborg (blue gloves) in the cage after defeating Julia Budd (not pictured) in their featherweight world title fight at The Forum on January 25, 2020 in Inglewood, California. Cyborg won by TKO in the 4th round

Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino is one of the most dominant female Mixed Martial artists of all time. Cyborg has held titles in MMA’s four major promotions Bellator, Invicta, Strikeforce, and the UFC making her the first Grandslam Champion of MMA. Cyborg has successfully defended her Bellator title three times. This last time was against Sinead Kavanagh who Cyborg made quick work of, winning by KO (punches) at Bellator 271 earlier in November. This makes one wonder what’s next for Cyborg? Cyborg really has no equal in the promotion, but there are some interesting fights that could be made.

One interesting fight that could be made would be a fight with fellow UFC veteran Cat Zingano. Zingano was on a four fight skid before she got cut by the promotion. She says she was cut over her involvement in the Halle Berry MMA themed movie, Bruised. However it seems like her losing streak was more likely the reason. Since joining Bellator Zingano has won both of her two fights with the promotion. It’d be great to see Zingano enter the Bellator cage and fight Cyborg. Zingano is one of the few fighters to beat Amanda Nunes so this could be a way for Cyborg to avenge her loss to Nunes in an odd way.

The other possible fight for Cyborg would be a match up with Free agent Kayla Harrison. Harrison is a two time PFL champion and has gold medals in Judo. It is not known if Harrison would sign with Bellator but it seems like this is an obvious choice for the Bellator matchmakers if Harrison does sign with the promotion. Harrison has an undefeated record and if she signs with Bellator she might be fighting for the title right away or maybe two fights down the line. I think noncausal MMA fans would love to see this fight.

Cyborg has made quick work out of all the fighters she’s faced in the Bellator cage but these two fights against Zingano and Harrison would be great fights and would be the only challenge since facing Amanda Nunes. Besides her fight with Julia Budd, who Cyborg won the title from, she hasn’t fought anyone that could be on her level in Bellator. We shall see!

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FIGHTER PROFILE: CRIS CYBORG

Cyborg with her Bellator Featherweight Belt. Photo Courtesy of Bellator MMA

Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino is one of the most dominant female Mixed Martial artists of all time. Cyborg has held titles in MMA’s four major promotions Bellator, Invicta, Strikeforce, and the UFC making her the first Grandslam Champion of MMA. Cyborg has been an unstoppable force throughout her MMA career and like many of Women’s MMA’s biggest names one of her only losses came at the hands of Women’s MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes.

Cyborg was born July 9, 1985 in Curitiba, Brazil. Her parents were divorced when Cyborg was born. Her father had alcohol problems. Cyborg started sports very young at age 12 although it wasn’t in a martial art it was handball. Cyborg excelled at the sport and was offered many scholarships to attend local universities. It was while in college that she was discovered by Rudimar Fedrigo, a Chute Boxe Academy trainer. Cyborg then switched to Muay Thai.

Cyborg met her now ex-husband, an MMA fighter named Evangelista Santos on her first day at the Chute Boxe Academy. She said of her relationship and the similar style they both fight with “He totally understands what I’m going through. He’s an experienced fighter and has been around a long time. I may come across something I haven’t seen before and he can talk to me about it and explain it to me. And when I have a problem, he’s very understanding.”

Cyborg made her MMA debut against Erica Paes, she would lose by Submission (kneebar.) This would be her only loss for 13 years in her MMA career. She would move on to fight for the Storm Samurai promotion and then would move on to the Elite XC promotion. She’d win both her fights in the promotion including a win against women’s MMA great Shayna Baszler by (TKO)

Cyborg would then move on to Strikeforce in 2009. Cyborg made her debut against Hitomi Akano at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz. Cyborg would win by TKO in the third round, an impressive showing. In her next fight for the promotion Cyborg would win the inaugural Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight Championship. Her opponent was Women’s MMA legend and future actor and activist, Gina Carano. She’d defend her title twice more. On her third title defense in Strikeforce she’d test positive for stanozolol after the fight this win would be overturned as a No Contest.

Cyborg would then move on to Invicta the biggest promotion for women in the sport her first fight would be a title eliminator versus Fiona Muxlow. Cyborg would win and get a shot at the Invicta Featherweight title. Cyborg would win against Marloes Coenen and would seize victory by TKO. Cyborg would defend that title three times.

Cyborg would move on to the UFC and would make her debut for the promotion against Leslie Smith in a catchweight bout at UFC 198. Cyborg would win by TKO(punches) she’d go on to fight Lina Länsberg in another catchweight bout. Cyborg then would fight for the Vacant 145 title. She’d win against Tonya Evinger. She’d defend the belt two more times and would lose it to Amanda Nunes on December 29, 2018 at UFC 232. Nunes has held the belt ever since.

Nunes would fight one more time in the UFC, but would eventually move to Bellator where she would win the Featherweight title. She still holds the Bellator 145 pound strap till this day. She’ll make her next title defense on November 23rd when she faces Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator 271.

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FIGHTER PROFILE: MICHAEL ‘VENOM’ PAGE

Michael Venom Page MMA fighter training — MVP Takes flight. (PHOTO CREDIT Michael Page)

Michael ‘Venom’ Page or simply ‘MVP’ as he’s known to fans is one of the most electrifying stars that’s ever stepped into the Bellator cage. Page is once again going to step into the cage on Friday for a rematch against Douglas Lima, who is the only fighter that Page has lost against in his career. Page looks to avenge this sole loss and move up in the Welterweight rankings and hopefully earn a title shot with a win against Lima. The long awaited rematch will go down at the SSE Arena, in Wembley, UK.

Page was born on April 7th 1987 in London, England at St. Mary’s Hospital. Page’s parents were both martial artists who practiced Lau Gar Kung fu. His father is of Trinidadian descent and his mother is of Jamaican descent. Page comes from a big family with nine siblings all who were involved in martial arts in some capacity. Page decided to follow suit. Page’s Father, Curtis Page Sr. became his kickboxing instructor and led Page to a prosperous kickboxing career where Page would become a champion. Which also was a family affair as Page’s brothers Curtis Jr., Jamie, and Kalon are also kickboxing champions, along with one of Page’s sisters, Sefena.

Page would decide to go on to fight MMA due to many different factors, but mainly decided that he didn’t like the politics of the kickboxing scene so he chose greener pastures of MMA. He started training with the London Shootfighter’s team after considering a move to America to train at American Top Team.

Page would make his MMA debut at UCMMA 26: The Real Deal. He’d defeat Ben Dishman by TKO and would go on to win his next two fights, before he’d make his Bellator MMA Debut against Ryan Sanders by KO. Page would go on to win his next 10 fights in the Bellator Cage, and would only get his first loss against Douglas Lima, by KO.

Page would go on to win his next five fights against tough competition and on Friday will get his rematch against Lima who has lost two of his last four. We will see how this plays out for Page whose star is shining and definitely deserves a title shot.

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BELLATOR 266: Davis vs. Romero Preview

Bellator is the UFC’s main competition in the MMA world, poaching some of their former fighters and giving opportunities to new fighters in the MMA world. On Friday September 18th we will see Bellator 266 live on Showtime from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. There are some great fights scheduled on the card.

The Lightweights will kick off the evening with a bout between (12-4) Adam Piccolotti and (14-4) Saul Rogers. Following that we’ll see a fight in the women’s flyweight division between (9-4) Alejandra Lara and (10-7-1) DeAnna Bennett. The Co-Main Event of the evening will be between 170 pounder’s Neiman Gracie (10-2) and Mark Lemminger (12-3.) The Main event wil will be in the Light Heavyweight division between Phil Davis (22-6) and former UFC fighter Yoel Romero (13-5)

On the card you see two names that stand out the first being Neiman Gracie who’s a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter of MMA’s first family, the Gracies. Gracie has won two of his last four fights and is coming off the second loss of his MMA career against Jason Jackson by unanimous decision. His opponent will be Mark Lemminger who’s coming off a win against Demarques Jackson by TKO.

Yoel Romero is the second name that jumps out on the card. Romero who lost three of his last four fights. Dropping his last three fights in the UFC will be making his Bellator debut. He has had trouble making weight before, but hopefully Light Heavyweight will be easier for the 44 year old fighter.

Bellator 266 is primed to be a great night of fights, and I know I’ll be watching!