The coach of Bellator MMA great Patricio
Freire expects that it is only a matter of time until his
fighter is a triple champ.
At Fight Ready in Arizona, Eric Albarracin coaches a solid roster
of fighters including former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Henry
Cejudo, ex-title challenger Paulo Costa
and both of the “Pitbull” brothers Patricio and Patricky
Freire. With the top echelon of his squad all holding sky-high
aspirations, news broke recently that Patricio was planning on
moving to 135 pounds to earn a title in that weight class as well.
Albarracin spoke to Sherdog about two
of the aforementioned competitors, including Patricio’s plans and
Costa’s possible next fight, on Thursday.
“When you reach a certain level, like Cejudo and Patricio, more
important than the belt itself is to make history,” the acclaimed
coach remarked. “Patricio has already beaten all the records and
conquered belts in two weight divisions, now he will get [to]
bantamweight and write his name in history as the only triple
[champion] in Bellator history. Two belts [are] normal in our team,
now we are going after the third one.”
Any negotiations between Bellator divisional champ Sergio
Pettis and Patricio are extremely premature, given that
Bellator is running a bantamweight grand prix that includes an
interim belt and a promise to face Pettis. Those possible
negotiations are not the only ones being discussed, as Albarracin’s
top middleweight, Costa, has one fight remaining on his UFC deal.
Opponents like Sean
Strickland have been floated, but they have not settled on
anyone as of yet.
“’Borrachinha’ is always in great shape! He spent one week with us
here in Fight Ready and did great sparring with Sullivan [Cauley]
from Bellator. He told me that he still has one fight left on his
UFC contract. He must do this fight with Strickland. After that, he
may go to boxing challenges against Logan Paul
or Jake
Paul. But for now, Strickland is the perfect fight for him to
finish his contract,” Albarracin finished.