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Bellator double champion Patricio Freire was recently in conversation with MMA Fighting and during the interview, the Brazilian fighter claimed that he is certainly capable of knocking out reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, if he's ever given the chance.
Patricio Freire's road to Bellator double champion
At Bellator 178, Patricio Freire faced Daniel Straus for the fourth time with the Bellator Featherweight Championship being on the line on this occasion. Freire won the bout via submission and in doing so, he also won the Bellator Featherweight Championship for the second time in his career.
The very next month, Patricio Freire signed a multi-year contract extension with Bellator and eventually challenged Michael Chandler for the Bellator Lightweight Championship at Bellator 221. Freire won the fight via first-round TKO and became the second current double champion in Bellator alongside Ryan Bader, as he won the Bellator Lightweight Title.
Freire feels he could KO Khabib Nurmagomedov
In his recent interview with MMA Fighting, Patricio Freire stated that Khabib Nurmagomedov is definitely a tough competitor who possesses phenomenal wrestling ability and sambo but has a huge deficiency on the feet.
Freire believes he is certainly capable of catching the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion on his feet and feels there is definitely a path to beat Nurmagomedov despite the latter holding an unbeaten record of 28-0.
“Khabib is very tough, has phenomenal wrestling and sambo, but he has a huge deficiency on the feet so I can catch him. Nothing is impossible. I think he’s very tough, 28-0, but another fighter from Rio Grande do Norte, (Gleison) Tibau, put on a very tough fight with him, and I think there’s a path to beat him. I believe we can do it. If my hand lands — and it would land — it’s over.”
What's next for Patricio Freire?
As of now, Patricio Freire is expected to defend his Bellator Featherweight Championship against Juan Archuleta at Bellator 227 on the 28th of September, 2019.
