Patricky
Freire was not disappointed by the last-minute change to the
Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 main event.
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On Tuesday night, it was announced that Rizin lightweight champion
Roberto
Satoshi de Souza would replace A.J. McKee in
the grand prix bout, which will serve as the headliner for the
Bellator portion of Saturday’s card at Saitama Super Arena in
Saitama, Japan.
„The most important thing for me is to fight and advance in
that grand prix and I’m glad Satoshi, the current Rizin
champion, agreed to step in and face me on such short notice for
both of us. I was told about A.J. McKee’s
(medical issue) on Monday morning. He just told Bellator on Sunday.
He was probably trying his best to recover until the last
minute, but unfortunately it was not possible.”
Freire acknowledged that he will have to make some tactical changes
against a new foe.
„Satoshi is a totally different opponent,” Freire said. “I did
my whole camp focused on a southpaw striker. Satoshi is an
orthodox grappler with great jiu-jitsu skills, with 10 wins via
submission. (He is) a very dangerous opponent in the first round,
but I´m also a BJJ black belt and the cage will favor my game. The
opponent doesn’t matter. My goal is the same: advance to the grand
prix finals and get the belt and $1 million prize.”
Freire is also excited that his brother, Patricio
Freire, is a late addition to the Rizin portion of the
card.
„It´s been 16 years since we fought together and I’m happy
that we will have that opportunity again in Japan, the country we
always dreamed of fighting together in one day, since we started
because of Pride,” he said. “Being here with my brother definitely
motivates us to give a great show to the Japanese fans on
Saturday.”