Time may soon tell whether or not
Patricio
Freire has finally encountered a hurdle he cannot clear.
“Pitbull” will challenge the unbeaten
A.J. McKee for
the
Bellator
MMA featherweight championship when their blockbuster rematch
headlines
Bellator 277 on Friday at the SAP Center in San Jose,
California. McKee submitted the Brazilian with a first-round
guillotine choke in the featherweight grand prix final at Bellator
263 on July 31, the life-altering victory bringing with it the
company’s undisputed title at 145 pounds. Neither man has fought
since, and Freire has never lost to the same man twice.
As McKee and Freire focus attention on their second meeting in a
little more than eight months, a look at some of the numbers that
have accompanied them to this point:
27: Years of age for McKee, who was born on April 7, 1995 in Long
Beach, California.
7: McKee wins by submission, accounting for 39% of his career total
(18). His methods of choice: two rear-naked chokes, two guillotine
chokes, one anaconda choke, one armbar and one neck crank. McKee
owns six other wins by knockout or technical knockout and five more
by decision.
71: Seconds needed for McKee to dispatch
Darrion
Caldwell with a neck crank under the Bellator 253 marquee on
Nov. 19, 2020. It ranks as his quickest submission to date.
3: Countries in which McKee has plied his MMA trade. He has gone
16-0 in the United States, 1-0 in Ireland and 1-0 in Italy.
98: Combined victories between the four men—Freire, Caldwell,
Georgi
Karakhanyan and
Derek
Campos—McKee defeated to win the Bellator featherweight grand
prix. They boast a cumulative .731 winning percentage
(98-35-1).
34: Years of age for Freire, who was born on July 7, 1987 in Natal,
Brazil.
11: Freire victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting
for 34% of his career total (32). His list of Bellator victims:
Karakhanyan,
Pedro
Carvalho,
Michael
Chandler,
Daniel
Weichel,
Justin
Wilcox,
Diego
Nunes,
Jared
Downing and
Wilson Reis.
Freire holds 12 other victories by submission and nine more by
decision.
65: Rounds completed by Freire as a professional mixed martial
artist. He has gone the distance on 12 different occasions and
carries a 9-3 record in those bouts.
61: Seconds needed for Freire to cut down Chandler with punches in
the Bellator 221 main event on May 11, 2019. Having occurred nearly
three years ago, it remains the fastest finish of his 37-fight
career.
.745: Cumulative winning percentage between the five men—McKee,
Benson
Henderson,
Daniel
Straus,
Pat Curran
and
Joe
Warren—who have beaten Freire. They sport a combined record of
111-38.