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#2 Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire – Bellator featherweight champion
Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire has earned a reputation for being the greatest fighter in Bellator history. His second reign as featherweight champion helped strengthen that argument. He submitted longtime rival Daniel Straus on April 21, 2017, to become the champion for the second time. The title reign lasted until July 31, 2021, when A.J. McKee submitted him in the finals for the featherweight Grand Prix.
Despite not having the longest title reign, Freire has the most title defenses in the promotion’s history. He looked better with each title defense and began separating himself from the rest of the division with his performances. He retained his title against Daniel Weichel, Emmanuel Sanchez twice, former bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta, and Pedro Carvalho.
‘Pitbull’ also made history in 2019, when he knocked out Michael Chandler to become the new lightweight champion. This was a massive superfight for the promotion as the winner would determine who the promotion’s greatest fighter was.
#1. Julia Budd – Bellator women’s featherweight champion
Julia Budd’s reign as women’s featherweight champion is still the longest title reign in Bellator history. She was their first women's featherweight champion and held the title for a total of 1808 days.
‘The Jewel’ became the inaugural champion after defeating Marloes Coenen by fourth-round TKO. She had three successful title defenses during her title reign against solid competition. Although the division’s quality wasn’t at the level it is now, she did do very well and elevated herself.
Budd made her first title defense by defeating current top-ranked featherweight Arlene Blencowe by split-decision. She then followed that up with back-to-back TKO wins over Talita Nogueira and Olga Rubin.
“The Jewel’s reign came to an end when former UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg defeated her in her promotional debut. Budd has since gotten back in the win column and is currently on a three-fight winning streak. She is currently competing in the PFL, where she is hoping to capture the women’s lightweight championship.
