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Patricio “Pitbull” Freire advanced into the Featherweight World Grand Prix and defended his 145-pound title with a fierce first-round knockout of Pedro Carvalho in the Bellator 252 main event at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on Thursday.
The 33-year-old champion did a short job of Carvalho, who entered the bout with a four-game winning streak, with his power and technique.
Carvalho promised to put pressure on the champion, but Pitbull made it clear that he would turn his opponent’s aggression against him. He did so in a masterful performance that seemed to require little effort as Carvalho played right into Pitbull’s hands.
The problems started early for Carvalho when Pitbull found the mark with the right hands. A short right in the clinch dropped Carvalho and the Brazilian quickly chased a submission. Caravalho managed to escape and stand up, but was greeted with a couple of 1-2 combinations, with the latest spelling of SBG Ireland fighter’s death at 2:10.
Pitbull has now won his last six fights and this latest victory places him in the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, where he will defend the title. He will face Emmanuel Sanchez, who advanced earlier into the night with a win.
Sanchez was equally impressive in his outing as he dominated Daniel Weichel to earn a unanimous decision.
After a back and forth first round, Sanchez took control of the fight in a brutal second round. He made a commitment to the body in the frame and almost put Weichel away with a couple of hooks which eventually folded Weichel and sent him to the canvas. Weichel managed to survive the storm and get back on his feet, but “El Matador” clearly had the momentum.
Weichel proved to be resilient and would never have been in as much trouble as he was during the second round, but he couldn’t do enough to get back into battle as Sanchez continued to mix him with punches, kicks and body shots. Eventually, Sanchez raised his hand with scores of 48-46, 49-46 and 49-45.
Sanchez will meet Pitbull for the second time after being short in 2018.
Elsewhere on paper, Aaron Pico finished John de Jesus with a brutal overhand right to secure a round two TKO in a featherweight clash. 24-year-old Pico scored his third straight win after stumbling upon a couple of knockout losses in 2019.
Pico took a more measured approach to MMA under the tutelage of Greg Jackson, one who blends his stellar wrestling with his boxing prowess. He showed that approach against de Jesus as he used his shots to secure takedowns and keep his opponent’s back nailed to the canvas throughout the first round.
With de Jesus overly concerned about the takedown, Pico uncorked a right overhand hell that folded de Jesus backwards and crumpled him to the canvas. Surprisingly, de Jesus still had his intelligence. Pico chased him and finished him off with dirt and violent blows.
Pico moves up to 7-3 with the win and appears to be on track to become a major player in the 145-pound division.
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