Although Will Brooks, the Bellator mixed martial arts lightweight champion, is the one feuding with featherweight champion Patricky Freire, Freire is the one eyeing to go up against Brooks sometime in the future.
Patricky Freire is set to fight Saad Awad (18-6 MMA, 6-3 BMMA) this coming August 28 at Bellator 141. If in case the older “Pitbull” would win this bout with the skills he trained for, he said that the possibility of him fighting Brooks for the Bellator title can come true.
“I think two types of wins will get me a title shot: First will be a fast, strong knockout victory, and the second will be a very dominant win where I frustrate him and don’t let him do a thing. If it’s a close fight or if I win by a hair, I don’t think it will get me there. Either a fast knockout or a dominant victory (will get me a title shot),” Patricky Freire said in a recent interview.
Bellator 141 is going to be held in Temecula, California at Pechanga Resort & Casino. This MMA lightweight fight between Freire and Awad will be aired following prelims on MMAjunkie and as Spike TV-televised main card.
These two fighters had a history of firing back at each other in the past. But this time around, their exchange of words against each other is going up the next level.
Fighters usually respect each other, but Freire does not think Brooks deserve this kind of regard. Freire says that Brooks doesn’t deserve to be respected because his actions on social media is very different when compared to confrontations in-person.
“Will Brooks is a clown. Every time he sees me, he shakes my hand but is not very comfortable around me. (He’s) kind of looking down at the ground and doesn’t look like he wants to be there. Then when he gets away from me, he becomes alive on Twitter, saying a lot of crap. He challenges me, he mocks me, but personally he doesn’t have that same courage. This motivates me a lot to beat him up,” Freire said.
Freire has spent much of his time and energy dealing with his rivalry with Brooks. If he wants to get a chance to fight Brooks for the MMA title, Freire must first beat Awad, the only fighter who won against the 155-pound champion.
Although the brazilian knows how tough Awad can be inside the octagon, Freire said he does not think of Awad other than his opportunity to finally go up against Brooks, get the champ’s title and finally show him what he’s got.
“I see (Awad) as a bridge, a very good bridge for me to get to Will Brooks. When I put my hands on (Brooks), he will become a loser, and I will become champion,”Freire said.