In this era of boxing vs. MMA, new matchups never thought
imaginable are coming to fruition.
At the end of January, boxer Acelino “Popo” Freitas faced off
against YouTuber Whindersson Nunes in the boxing ring. They fought
to a draw after 16 minutes of action, and the results proved to be
smash hit for the ratings, drawing millions upon millions of
viewers on Brazilian television. After the fight, the 46-year-old
“Popo” called out former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight
champion Jose Aldo, and
many other fighters including Patricio
Freire and Bibiano
Fernandes unsuccessfully asked for the opportunity when Aldo
declined due to his UFC contract.
Freitas then extended his challenge to names like Wanderlei
Silva and Vitor
Belfort, despite the massive size discrepancy between Freitas
who typically competed below 135 pounds and those much larger men.
Once Belfort heard about the challenge upon speaking to Sherdog,
however, he grew quite interested in the matchup and contacted
Triller Fight Club to begin negotiations.
Freitas was elated at Belfort’s interest, recently telling “Estado
de Sao Paulo, a newspaper in Brazil, “[The] heavier Belfort comes,
[the worse it will be for him]. The fight is on.”
Sherdog then spoke to “The Phenom” about the possible boxing match,
and he confirmed it was indeed in the works.
“I talked to Triad promoters and they got interested,” Belfort
said. “The idea is make it in [the] USA; let’s see who is the best
striker.”
The main boxing trainer of Freitas for the last 21 years, Ulysses
Pereira, did not like the idea at the beginning. Pereira had also
trained Belfort in his trilogy against Randy
Couture that ended in 2004. “Popo” was able to convince him,
even though Freitas will be substantially smaller in every
metric.
“My main concern has always been the fighters’ health,” Pereira
explained. “Of course there is a big size difference [Belfort
stands five inches taller], but both have about the same age [of]
44 vs. 46. According to Popo, he will weigh 75kg [165 pounds], like
against Whindersson, and Belfort [will weigh] 85kg [187
pounds].”
According to the trainer, if the fight is confirmed, “Popo” will
need to rely on his experience as a longtime boxer against a larger
foe in order to get his hand raised.
“I know both very well,” the coach noted, “of course Belfort’s
knockout power must be respected, as well as the boxing skills of a
four-time boxing champion. It will be a hell of a fight, but I
believe Popo’s experience will make the difference.”
It may not make sense to international MMA fans as to why Belfort
is interested in a fight against a 46-year-old retired super
featherweight boxer. Other than being the biggest name of Brazilian
boxing, “Popo” has always been extremely popular in his home
country of Brazil, well before the explosion of MMA in Brazil
around when Belfort faced Anderson
Silva in 2010. Freitas competed as a boxer professionally from
1995 to 2017, fighting 43 times and only losing twice, while
notching 34 knockouts. “Popo” claimed world titles in both the
super featherweight and lightweight divisions in both the WBO and
WBA ranks.
Through his career, Freitas began with a 35-0 record, in which he
scored finishes in his first 29 fights. At a time that MMA was
declared “human cockfighting” in the late 1990s, Popo had appeared
live on Globo TV for the majority of bouts, and many came with
championships on the line. The 46-year-old still holds the
Brazilian audience record of any fight to air on national TV,
reaching 91 million viewers when defending his belts against Daniel
Attah in Phoenix in 2002. A battle between the most popular
Brazilian boxer and the second-most popular MMA fighter in the
country has the potential to do massive numbers in their home
country of Brazil.