Patricky Freire took part in Rizin FF’s lightweight grand prix in order to avoid potentially fighting his brother.
Freire’s brother, Patricio Freire, is Bellator’s reigning featherweight and lightweight champion and is currently taking part in Bellator’s ongoing featherweight grand prix.
Meanwhile, Patricky Freire (22-8) scored a first-round knockout over PRIDE and UFC veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri in Rizin’s lightweight grand prix quarterfinals at Rizin FF 19 and moved onto the semifinals, where he will take on Luis Gustavo Dec. 31 at Rizin FF 20 in Saitama Japan.
But Freire also recently signed a new multi-fight deal with Bellator, and is unsure of just how long his Rizin FF tenure will last.
“My goal is to capture the Rizin championship belt,” Freire told MMA Junkie. “I might want to defend it right away. It all depends on how things are playing out in the Bellator lightweight division.”
Freire is currently enjoying the best stretch of his career, having won his last six fights in a row. The Pitbull Brothers team in Brazil has slowly become one of the most top MMA gyms in the country, home to the likes of Patricky and his brother Patricio, former UFC flyweight and current bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo, and middleweight contender Paulo Costa.
“Without a doubt, I feel I’m at the apex of my career,” Freire said. “I’m feeling very motivated. I’m feeling great – physically, technically, strategically, and mentally. I’m on the longest winning streak of my career. Of my last six wins, four have been by knockout. Good things keep happening. I’m ready keep it going. Be sure of that.
“I’ve never trained as hard as this in the past. The one new element is a new physical conditioning coach, since my debut in Japan. I haven’t changed my team or teammates. There was no reason to change a winning team.”
At Rizin FF 20, Freire takes on 23-year-old Gustavo, who took out Hiroto Uesako at Rizin FF 19 to also advance to the grand prix semifinals. The winner moves on to try and capture the grand prix title with a second fight later in the same night. Freire isn’t looking his past his first assignment, though.
“Luiz is a young, aggressive, very dangerous fighter, but he still has a lot to learn,” Freire said. “There are still a lot of holes in his game. I have a sparring partner who’s trained with him. The weaknesses he identified are the same ones I’d seen myself.”
