Bellator Featherweight Semifinals Set for April 16 in Arizona

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (Pictured) will square off with fellow Brazilian Wilson Reis, while Team Bombsquad product Kenny Foster meets Team Vision representative Daniel Straus.

Freire tweeted news of his semifinal matchup on Thursday, and Sherdog.com confirmed the pairings and location through multiple sources soon after. The promotion has yet to officially announce either of the matchups.

Freire comes off a hard-fought victory over Georgi Karakhanyan in the quarterfinal. Though his opponent was game, the Brazilian was able to control the fight with superior wrestling before unleashing a beautiful left hook that dropped Karakhanyan to the mat. Freire pounced on his fallen foe, forcing the referee to stop the contest.

Reis wasted no time in dispatching Zac George in their Bellator 37 contest, as the former EliteXC bantamweight king crumpled his opponent with a looping hook before finishing the job with a smooth rear-naked choke at just 2:09 of the opening round.

Foster was equally impressive in his victory over Eric Larkin, as the Team Bombsquad fighter quickly submitted the decorated wrestler with a guillotine choke in the first round. “The Tooth Fairy” has won eight of his last nine, including back-to-back wins inside the circular Bellator cage.

In a gutsy performance, Straus went toe-to-toe with undefeated Argentine Nazareno Malegarie, earning a unanimous decision after three rounds of back-and-forth action. The victory marks Straus' 11th straight win. The featherweight holds nine of his 15 career victories by decision.

The winner of Bellator's featherweight tournament will receive $100,000 in total pay and a shot at the promotion's 145-pound champion, Joe Warren. This Saturday, the promotion again airs live on MTV2 as the light heavyweight quarterfinals are contested at Bellator 38 on March 26.