Patricio "Pitbull" Freire advanced in the Featherweight World Grand Prix and defended his 145-pound title with a vicious first-round knockout of Pedro Carvalho in the main event of Bellator 252 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Thursday.
The 33-year-old champion made short work of Carvalho, who entered the bout riding a four-fight winning streak, with his power and technique.
Carvalho promised to pressure the champion but Pitbull made it clear that he would turn his opponent’s aggression against him. He did just that in a masterful performance that seemed to require little effort as Carvalho played right into Pitbull’s hands.
The trouble started early for Carvalho as Pitbull found his mark with right hands. A short right in the clinch dropped Carvalho and the Brazilian immediately chased a submission. Caravalho managed to escape and get to his feet but was met with a pair of 1-2 combinations, with the last spelling the SBG Ireland fighter’s demise at the 2:10 mark.
Pitbull has now won his last six fights, and this latest victory places him in the Grand Prix semifinals, where he'll make another title defense. He'll face Emmanuel Sanchez, who advanced earlier in the night with a win.
Sanchez was equally impressive in his outing as he dominated Daniel Weichel to earn a unanimous decision.
After a back-and-forth first round, Sanchez took control of the fight in a brutal second round. He made a commitment to the body in the frame and nearly put Weichel away with a pair of hooks that eventually folded Weichel and sent him to the canvas. Weichel managed to survive the storm and get back to his feet, but "El Matador" clearly possessed the momentum.
Weichel proved to be resilient and would never find himself in as much trouble as he was during the second round, but he couldn’t do enough to climb back into the fight as Sanchez continued to mix it up with punches, kicks and body shots. In the end, Sanchez had his hand raised with scores of 48-46, 49-46 and 49-45.
Sanchez will meet Pitbull for the second time after coming up short in 2018.
Elsewhere on the card, Aaron Pico finished John de Jesus with a brutal overhand right to secure a second-round TKO in a featherweight showdown. The 24-year-old Pico picked up his third straight victory after stumbling to a pair of knockout losses in 2019.
Pico has taken a more measured approach to MMA under the tutelage of Greg Jackson, one that mixes his stellar wrestling with his boxing ability. He showcased that approach against de Jesus as he used his striking to secure takedowns and keep his opponent's back pinned to the canvas throughout the first round.
With de Jesus overly concerned about the takedown, Pico uncorked a hellacious overhand right that bent de Jesus backward and crumpled him to the canvas. Surprisingly, de Jesus still had his wits about him. Pico chased him down and finished him off with vicious ground and pound.
Pico moves to 7-3 with the victory and appears to be on his way to becoming a major player in the 145-pound division.