Former simultaneous two-division Bellator champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire believes that Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski will soon join the ranks of the double champs. In a recent appearance on the Trocação Franca, Pitbull compared current featherweight champ Volkanovski’s charge at the lightweight championship for UFC 284 in February will place him in the elite company of Conor McGregor and, of course, Pitbull himself.
“I think that’s perfect, he’s doing what I did, what [Conor] McGregor did one day. It’s great. He really has to test himself, really has to move up in weight. He’s not that light and I think he’s fast and very powerful. He’ll [Makhachev] him some trouble. We know Makhachev has the height and reach advantage, but it’s a tough fight for [Makhachev]. We’re going to see a great fight.”
Pitbull Predicts Double Champ Future for Volk
Pitbull is set to face RIZIN featherweight champ Kleber Koike at the Bellator vs Rizin show this Saturday night in Japan. Although there will be no title on the line this time, Pitbull is more than familiar with title fights. Once upon a time, when he was reigning Bellator featherweight champion, he stepped up to lightweight to take on then-champ Michael Chandler. Although Chandler had two victories over Pitbull’s brother Patricky, Patricio was able to finish Chandler in only 61 seconds.
He’s expecting Volkanovski to cause some serious problems for Islam Makhachev, who will make his first title defense in the bout. “People that [talk about] who’s the favorite and who’s the underdog sometimes get it right, but they’re often wrong.
I think Volkanovski wins. I do. Not because he’s [a featherweight]. I think he’s hard to beat. He’s hard to be controlled, hard to be found on the feet, hard to be submitted, so it’s not someone that will be easily found [by Makhachev] in the cage.”
Pitbull continued, pointing out Volkanovski’s various advantages heading into the bout. “He’s faster than Makhachev so he definitely has a good strategy, to keep the fight on the feet.
He controls the distance really well. We don’t have a similar style but the strategy he does is similar to mine. He moves well and doesn’t allow people to get close that easily. He touches without getting touched, and that’s very important in a fight. You end up frustrating your opponent, hurting him the entire time.”
Do you think Patricio Pitbull is right about Volkanovski vs Makhachev? Let us know in the comments.
