Patricio Pitbull Wants Chandler’s Head, Not Belt
Patricio Freire has wanted to shut up Michael Chandler for years, and now at Bellator 221, he moves up to lightweight and gets his chance.
Speaking with MMA Fighting about their Superfight on May 11th, Freire admits he’s not doing this to stay at 155 pounds and become a double champion like Daniel Cormier or Conor McGregor.
”The only difference is that those guys moved up to have the belt. I don’t want the belt, I want Michael Chandler’s head,” Freire said. “I want a win over him. His belt is not my goal. His belt will be the consequence of my win. My goal is to beat him up, make him feel pain.”
While his brother Patricky has been making a name at 155-pounds, and aiming for another title shot, Bellator’s featherweight champion does not want to keep the title, looking to vacate it the same night he’d win it.
”The best moment is right now,” Freire said. “I’m the champion, I cleaned my division, and he’s the lightweight champion again. It’s the perfect moment (to make this fight) because of the rivalry and because now it’s a superfight between champions.”
”I was Michael Chandler twice. I had to do his game twice,” Freire said of training Patricky for his two losses to Chandler. “We’ve deciphered him, but he’s still a very dangerous opponent. He’s very strong with the takedowns, his knockout power is violent, but he’s not a complete guy. He fights well, has good takedowns and heavy ground and pound, does well on the ground. He’s not fantastic in the jiu-jitsu area, but he does well, and that’s why he’s the lightweight champion.”
”I never imagine myself losing this fight,” Freire said. “I always imagine him sleeping on the canvas. I’m not saying this to sound cool in this interview, the image that comes to my head is him sleeping. I will catch him when he makes a mistake. If you take a closer look, he’s great when he’s attacking but he’s not good when he’s defending. He doesn’t know how to move backwards. He has heavy hands, moves that cannon-like right hand well, but you can see it coming.
”I know Primus is bigger than me, but Chandler’s face was a mess when they fought. He was dropped with a jab. His chin is not that great. He’s been saying that about me, but I’ve been in many five-round wars in my weight class with guys that were hitting me, not guys that weren’t that strong and caused so much damage (like Primus did to him).”
Initial Report: MMA Fighting