Considering Roberto de Souza stepped up on short notice, it was only fitting that Patricky Freire chopped him down for the win.
In an unexpected Bellator lightweight grand prix quarterfinal, Freire methodically chipped away at de Souza for two rounds before finishing him with a devastating leg kick just 49 seconds into the third round Sunday in the Bellator x Rizin 2 main event at Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo. The fight was made just earlier this week after A.J. McKee was forced to withdraw because of a staph infection.
After a slow first round, Freire started doing some damage in Round 2. First he landed a hard one-two combo that stunned de Souza. In the final minute, Freire dropped de Souza after landing a clean jumping knee. However, Freire didn’t rush in to try and finish de Souza as it appeared he might’ve thought de Souza was trying to lure him into a ground fight.
That seemed like it could’ve been a mistake given how dazed de Souza was in the moment, but the misfire didn’t matter after the horn sounded. In the third round, Freire came out firing and landed the brutal leg kick that instantly dropped de Souza to the canvas. It didn’t take but a few follow-up punches for referee Kerry Hatley to step in and stop the fight.
Deadly leg kick! 🦵💥
The finish from @PatrickyPitbull in slow motion 👀
Can he go all the way in the #BellatorLWGP? #BellatorXRizin pic.twitter.com/rCRgEII479
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) July 30, 2023
With the win, Freire (25-11 MMA, 16-9 BMMA) rebounded from losing the 155-pound title to Usman Nurmagomedov last November and moved one step closer to a rematch. Freire will meet Alexander Shabliy in one grand prix semifinal, while Nurmagomedov will defend his title against former champ Brent Primus in the other.
