After losing his featherweight belt to A.J. McKee
last July, it looks like Patricio
Freire will get a chance to step into the cage again with “The
Mercenary” later this year.
Last week, reports surfaced that Bellator was
targeting a McKee-Freire rematch for April, and Freire told
Sherdog.com this week that he has already begun his camp for the
bout even though it has not been finalized.
“I sent an email to Bellator right after [the loss] asking for the
immediate rematch and the only feedback that I had was, ‘We will
try, but it may not happen.’ The information was leaked last week,
but I cannot confirm yet, but I truly hope it happens,” Freire
said.
Freire added that he has essentially been training since he began
his mixed martial arts career.
“I never stop training,” he said. “I don’t see any other MMA
fighter more motivated than myself. I’m 34 years old. I started
back in 2004 and never stopped training. There are many fighters
that started after me and already retired. And according with my
physiologists, I still have a long run. I´m still doing five rounds
of five minutes like a 19-year-Old Boy
.”
Freire has a long history of doing well in rematches, besting the
likes of Pat Curran,
Daniel
Straus, Daniel
Weichel and Emmanuel
Sanchez in return dates under the Bellator banner.
“There is nothing that motivates me more than a rematch,” he said.
“Losing is something that is unacceptable to me. I´m not programmed
to lose, I´m programmed to be a champion, and I’ll show that when I
step in the cage again with A.J.”
According to the Brazilian, his primary goal is not getting a
finish against McKee.
“My main goal is make him feel pain, beat him so badly that he will
(forget about the first fight). Of course, if the submission or
knockout opportunity shows up I´ll take it, but it´s not what I’m
training so hard for,” Freire said. “My main goal is beat him
really badly this time.”
If he does beat McKee in the rematch, Freire knows it likely
won’t be the last he will see of the Team Bodyshop standout.
“I’m not thinking about it now, but it makes sense that this story
will have more chapters,” he said. “I´ll be ready to do two, three
or four fights if necessary.”