CHICAGO – Patricky Freire is the Bellator lightweight champion entering Friday’s Bellator 288, but he’s also an underdog.
Regardless of the odds, Freire (24-10 MMA, 15-8 BMMA) is confident entering his bout vs. Usman Nurmagomedov (15-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In Freire’s eyes, he’s been an underdog his whole career, so this is just a continuation of an already ongoing drumbeat.
“I like to prove everybody wrong,” Freire told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “When I came to Bellator, it was the same for a long time, long years, a lot of years. I was the underdog. I don’t care about this. It is motivating. I want to prove these people wrong. It motivates me a lot. ”
“… (I’ve had) tough opponents from the first fight until now. … My first fight was Rob ‘Razor’ McCullough. He’s a former champ for WEC. Nobody gave me a present like (Nurmagomedov received).”
Nurmagomedov has hype. Many fans and media members see the influx of Eastern European lightweight contenders in Bellator a championship death sentence for him due to the relentless pressure and well-roundedness of Nurmagomedov, Tofiq Musayev, and Alexander Shabliy.
With Nurmagomedov, fans might be underestimating his wrestling and overlooking his striking, said Freire.
“I’m not sure, but his striking is different than other Russians,” Freire said. “His striking, it looks like he loves to be a striker. Sometimes, he tries to do wrestling, but I don’t know. I don’t believe he loves too much the wrestling. I believe he loves to be a striker because he’s a tall guy. He makes good distance. He kicks very well. He punches very well. So I believe if he is going to be the same size as the other guys, I believe he’s (going) to do wrestling.”
To counteract any potential wrestling threats, Freire worked closely with coach Eric Albarracin to figure out some tricks that’ll likely come in handy. Friday, the world will see whether or not they’ll pay off.
“I have one crazy coach from wrestling,” Freire said. “He has a lot of ideas. He’s helped me a lot for a long time. He tried to help me every fight. Every time he comes here with different ideas, different guys to help me and my brother.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 288.
