Bellator MMA great Patricio Freire will be out of action for the foreseeable future.
Earlier in the week, Freire (35-7) volunteered for a short-notice fight against Chihiro Suzuki (11-3, 1 NC) at Super Rizin 2. The two agreed to the pairing with the same amount of notice, and agreed to square off at about 155 pounds. Just after the midpoint of Round 1, Suzuki toppled Freire with a ferocious right hand. The victory for the Japanese fighter immediately vaulted itself into consideration for one of the biggest upsets of the year, even one month removed from Freire’s loss at bantamweight to champ Sergio Pettis.