Patricio Freire recently expressed his feelings regarding Bellator choosing to place Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice in the main event spot over his title defense on the upcoming Bellator 138 fight card later this month.
Bellator Featherweight Champion “Pitbull” Freire (23-2), spoke with MMAJunkie.com about his upcoming title defense against Daniel Weichel (35-8) on June 19th, and the fact that it won’t be the headline bout of the evening.
“I see two signs here: One is negative, and one is positive,” Freire said through an interpreter. “The negative one is that I’m the champion, and I think if you have a title fight on a card, the main event should always be the fight for the belt. I think if you have a champion, he needs to be respected.”
Freire continued, “The positive side is the position this organization is in right now, they’re trying to create a new image for the brand and make is visible for the casual fans. Shamrock and ‘Kimbo’ bring that. I realize that side of the promotion, and I understand it.”
With that being said, “Pitbull” isn’t taking his opponent lightly, as he realizes Weichel is a legitimate challenger, but thinks he won’t have a problem getting his hand raised at the end of the night.
“He beat a very tough Pat Curran, but I think the beating I gave Curran was so big that he didn’t return to the fighter he was,” Freire said. “I hope he can return to that, but it was a very good win for Weichel. It proves he belongs and deserves this title shot.
“I don’t think he does (anything I haven’t seen). I’ve studied his fights, and I think he has a lot of weaknesses, especially standing. If he goes to the ground with me, we already know what’s going to happen.”
Freire concluded, “I’ve stopped looking at rankings; right now I only care about destroying my opponent. I’m going to remain doing that, and it doesn’t matter anymore what anyone thinks. It only matters what I know, and I know I’m the best. Coming into to fight me, I know [Weichel] doesn’t have anything to offer me or surprise me. I’m going to beat him everywhere the fight goes.”
Bellator 138: Unfinished Business takes place on Friday, June 19, 2015 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, and airs live on Spike TV. Make sure to join us here at MMANews.com on 6/19 for the best Bellator 138 live results coverage on the web!
