Bellator MMA has a timeline for its highly-anticipated rematch
between A.J. McKee and
Patricio
Freire.
The featherweight championship clash has been targeted for a
Bellator event in April, though it could also take place in May.
The bout and its potential date were initially reported
by Ariel Helwani. A venue and location have not been announced.
McKee completed his rise to the top of the 145-pound division this
past July, defeating Freire via first-round submission in the
Bellator 263 headliner in Los Angeles. The 26-year-old Team
Bodyshop representative is 18-0 as a professional, with all of his
triumphs coming under the Bellator banner. His ledger includes wins
over the likes of Darrion
Caldwell, Georgi
Karakhanyan, Pat Curran,
John
Teixeira and Justin
Lawrence.
Freire had a seven-bout winning streak snapped in his loss to
McKee. That included a run through the featherweight grand prix
that saw him best Juan
Archuleta, Pedro
Carvalho and Emmanuel
Sanchez to reach the bracket’s finals. Freire was recently a
two-division champion in the promotion, but he vacated the
lightweight belt earlier this year in order to pursue a rematch
with McKee. “Pitbull” has enjoyed two separate reigns as Bellator
featherweight king during his promotional tenure.