PFL vs. Bellator Loses Jesus Pinedo-Patricio Freire Featherweight Pairing

The PFL vs. Bellator main card has taken a hit, as Jesus Pinedo has withdrawn from a proposed featherweight clash against Patricio Freire for undisclosed reasons.

As a result, the PFL announced Saturday that the fight is off the card. It is unclear if Pinedo vs. Freire will be rebooked at a later date. PFL vs. Bellator takes place on Feb. 24 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, and is headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader. The main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+.

Pinedo captured the 2023 PFL featherweight championship by ending his season with successive victories over Brendan Loughnane, Bubba Jenkins and Gabriel Braga. The two-time UFC veteran has complied a 23-6-1 career mark over the course of a professional tenure that began in 2013.

Freire, who is Bellator MMA’s reigning featherweight champion, is coming off back-to-back losses to Chihiro Suzuki and Sergio Pettis. Prior to that, “Pitbull” had been victorious in 10 of his previous 11 professional outings.

The promotion also announced that a preliminary clash pitting Claressa Shields against Kelsey DeSantis will now be contested at a 165-pound catchweight.