‘Pitbull’ Vacates Lightweight Title

Former Bellator MMA two-division champion Patricio Freire today announced that he will vacate the lightweight title to focus on his 145-pound rematch against undefeated featherweight “Mercenary” AJ McKee.

McKee submitted Freire at Bellator 263 last July.

“Starting today, I’m no longer the Bellator MMA Lightweight Champion,” Freire wrote on social media. “Honor and family come first. When I first won the lightweight belt it was just about revenge. It was still an honor, but with the loss at 145 I’m starting over. It’s time for the division to move on and for Patricky Pitbull to have his shot. My focus is on AJ and him only.”

With the lightweight title up for grabs, Freire’s older brother Patricky will rematch Peter Queally on Nov. 5 inside 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. “The Shopstopper” captured a technical knockout victory over “Pitbull” by way of doctor’s stoppage at Bellator 258 last May.

Here’s the rest of the Bellator 270 fight card and Showtime lineup:

Bellator 270 Main Card:

Lightweight World Title Main Event: #4-Peter Queally (13-5-1) vs. #1-Patricky “Pitbull” (23-10)
Bantamweight Co-Main Event: #6-James Gallagher (11-1) vs. #2-Patrick Mix (14-1)
Middleweight Bout: #6-Charlie Ward (9-4) vs. #9-Nobert Novenyi Jr. (5-0)
Featherweight Bout: #6-Daniel Weichel (41-6) vs. #7-Pedro Carvalho (11-5)

Bellator 270 Prelims Card:

Featherweight Bout: Ciaran Clarke (3-0) vs. Jordan Barton (6-1-1)
Featherweight Bout: Ilias Bulaid (2-0) vs. Georges Sasu (5-2)
Welterweight Bout: Ashley Reece (8-2) vs. Luca Poclit (6-1)
Lightweight Bout: Daniele Scatizzi (10-5) vs. Brian Hooi (16-8, 1 NC)
Light Heavyweight Bout: Lee Chadwick (26-15-1) vs. Arunas Andriuskevicus (15-4)
Heavyweight Bout: Gokhan Saricam (5-1) vs. Rob Beech (5-2)
Welterweight Bout: Nicolò Solli (3-1) vs. Bobby Pallett (5-0)
Strawweight Bout: Danni Neilan (4-0) vs. Audrey Kerouche (7-5, 2 NC)
Featherweight Bout: Junior Morgan (3-0) vs. Darragh Kelly (Pro Debut)
Welterweight Bout: Stephen Costello (Pro Debut) vs. Joe Nazokatov (Pro Debut)

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