The Bellator featherweight title and a spot in the quarterfinals of the 145-pound grand prix is on the line when Patricio Freire meets Juan Archuleta at Saturday night’s Bellator 228 event in Inglewood, Calif.
“Pitbull” claims he actually handpicked Archuleta as his first opponent. The two-division champ said Bellator’s original plan was to match him up against Henry Corrales, but he wasn’t interested in starting the tournament against someone he’s already defeated (Corrales tapped to a guillotine at Bellator 153 in 2016).
“I wanted someone who was coming off good wins,” Freire told MMA Fighting.