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Former Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion ‘The Wolf’ Caldwell has claimed that Patricio Freire, who successfully defended his featherweight title against Juan Archuleta on Saturday at Bellator 228 is consciously avoiding a physical confrontation with him inside the cage.
Right after Patricio beat Archuleta via unanimous decision in the title clash, Caldwell walked up to him and began talking trash to the reigning Bellator featherweight and lightweight champion.
Does 'Pitbull' not want to fight The Wolf?
In a news conference held post-Bellator 228, Caldwell said “I think he’s dodging me. Let’s be honest.”
This came as a surprise to many as Pitbull is known for taking on anyone and everyone that comes his way and isn’t frequently accused of dodging fights. But what is adding fuel to this speculation is the fact that even as Caldwell and Freire shared a heated exchange at cage side after the latter’s fight, Pitbull chose Pedro Carvalho as his next opponent instead of Caldwell.
“I think it was strategic on his part” is what Caldwell had to say about Freire’s decision to pick Carvalho instead of him.
Freire and Caldwell have been going at each other for months now and the fact that their feud has not yet materialized into a fight does indicate that Freire may actually be avoiding The Wolf.
Freire accused of 'strategically' dodging three fighters
Caldwell further went on to name two other fighters that he thinks Pitbull does not want to have anything to do with.
“Three fighters that he doesn’t want to fight: myself, Adam (Borics), and A.J. (McKee). So, I think his coaches did a good job of strategizing. I just gotta get Adam and take him in the first round.” - h/t MMA Junkie
Caldwell is set to face the undefeated Adam Borics in the quarterfinals of the Bellator featherweight grand prix at The Forum (Inglewood, California) in January. Caldwell booked a quarterfinal spot for himself after he put up a thoroughly dominant performance in a unanimous decision victory over his friend Henry Corrales on Saturday night at Bellator 228.
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