NEW YORK – Irish lightweight contender Peter Queally has been sitting on big news for a little while, but it’s out, and he’s happy to share his excitement ahead of his upcoming fight.
Queally (12-5-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) will take on Brazilian mainstay Patricky Freire (23-9 MMA, 14-7 BMMA) in the Bellator Dublin headliner Oct. 3 at 3Arena in a bout that he believes will propel him into a title fight with Freire’s younger brother, two-division champ Patricio, later in 2020.
The news officially was announced at Bellator’s 2020 showcase this week, but Queally revealed that fans back in his homeland were given a sneak peek of the matchup via the accidental early release of the fight poster in his hometown.
“It was announced on a bus stop in Dublin this morning, actually,” Queally told MMA Junkie after the news conference. “They messed up the advertising, and they released the posters too early, so a lot of people knew about it (Monday morning).”
For Queally, the fight represents a perfect storm, where a sequence of events has conspired to place him exactly where he wants to be in his fighting career. A seasoned 155 pounder who has plied his trade across Europe, Queally has recently been given his chance on the global stage with Bellator. Now following his come-from-behind stoppage win over Ryan Scope at Bellator Europe 4 in 2019, “The Showstopper” is getting his chance to shine in the main event, in his hometown, against a man with whom he has a legitimate rivalry.
“It’s definitely a fight I’m looking forward to,” he explained. “There’s a reason why we’re fighting, which is always important to people. And, whatever I say about him personally, he is a great fighter and, more than that, he comes and tries to take you out, which is what I like, because it’s what I do as well. So whatever happens, it’s going to be an amazing fight. I just can’t wait for it.”
The growing rivalry between Queally’s SBG Ireland gym and Freire’s “Pitbull Brothers” team is becoming one of the big Bellator storylines of 2020, with two SBG vs. “Pitbull Brothers” matchups already booked to take place. That rivalry was there for all to see during the press conference, but Queally said nothing he says during those interactions is for show, or to hype a fight. Instead, he said, he’s simply telling it how it is.
“I’m not getting wrapped up in the trash talk. I’m just speaking the truth,” Queally said. “It was them who started this SBG vs. Pitbull thing. They were talking (expletive) to (James Gallagher) online and on Twitter, then my name was dragged into it somehow. I can’t even remember how it was dragged into it. But it was them who actually started this, and now they have it.”
That rivalry will pick up momentum at Bellator 241 when Queally’s SBG teammate and training partner Pedro Carvalho takes on two-division Bellator champion – and Patricky’s brother – Patricio Freire in the quarterfinals of the featherweight grand prix. Freire is a solid pre-fight favorite heading into the matchup, but Queally says the featherweight title is about to change hands.
“People are going to get a big shock with this one, I can tell you right now,” he said. “People are going to be shocked on Friday. Then Patricky has me (in October), and it’s going to continue then.”
Queally said he agrees that the upcoming rematch between Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson is the deserving No. 1 contender fight, but he said the manner of his victory over Patricio’s brother in October will mean his case as a title contender is an irresistible one and will see him jump the queue to earn the next title shot at 155 pounds.
“They’re on about Henderson and Chandler being this No. 1 contender fight, but what happens when I break (Patricky’s) brother’s face? That’s it, that’ll be the No. 1 contender fight. So I think I’m going to fight both of them, probably before the year is out.
“(Chandler vs. Henderson 2) is the No. 1 contender fight right now, and rightfully so, if we’re being fair about it. But that will all change in October when I beat Patricky, of course, because it’s his brother. So it is all going to change, and I am going to jump the line, so to speak.”
To hear more from Queally, you can watch the video above.
Bellator Dublin's Peter Queally plans to defeat both 'Pitbull' brothers in 2020