David Rickels talks being a 'fat man' and Bellator 113 opponent Patricky 'Chihuahua'

David Rickels has a few things on his mind heading into Bellator’s Season 10 lightweight tournament.

For starters, he believes the “dog” he’s fighting at Bellator 113 on Friday, Patricky “Pitbull” Freire, has been misclassified.

Secondly, the guy wants to eat. And not just the kind of eating that a fighter does after making weight. Rickels wants to crank through three fights in the lightweight tourney so he can bulk up without worry for a while.

“Every time I turn down a slice of pizza, that’s ammo for me,” Rickels told MMAjunkie. “Every French fry that goes past me, it pisses me off. I can’t wait to win this tournament so I can gorge myself and get fat as s–t. It’s one of my favorite things to do.”

Rickels (15-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) takes on Freire (11-5 MMA, 4-5 BMMA) in the opening round of the lightweight tourney, which takes place at Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, Kan. – right outside Rickels’ hometown of Wichita.

“Caveman” isn’t shy about admitting he doesn’t have the year-round healthy lifestyle of some fighters. But he said the deprivation stage of the comfort foods he looks to outside of camp is what helps motivate him in the cage.

“I’m definitely a fat man in a fit man’s body,” he said. “I’m the biggest, fattest piece of s–t I’ve ever come across. I can’t explain how hard it is for me to not eat all the fatty foods I love and drink beer while I’m cutting weight for my fights. That’s why when I enter that cage, I want to take out all that frustration on my opponent. If I have to diet for eight weeks to fight somebody, I’m going to whoop that dude’s ass.”

On Friday, that dude is “Pitbull” Freire, who has had a rough go of things the past three years or so in the Bellator cage.

The Brazilian reached the lightweight tourney final in Season 4, but lost to Michael Chandler, who went on to win the title. That loss started a 1-4 slide for him, including an early exit from the Season 6 tournament.

And though Freire returned to the win column this past November for the first time in nearly two years, Rickels believes his opponent has a return to rough nights on his hands.

“I think Patricky is a great opponent for me to go out there and show my skills because he’s going to come out hard in the first round and he’s going to realize that I’m not going anywhere, and then in Rounds 2 and 3 I’m going to start to bust him up,” Rickels said. “I’m going to bloody Patricky up. I’m going to hurt him. He’s known for being an aggressive fighter, well s–t, so am I. Let’s meet in the middle and see what happens.”

Rickels, though, believes that “Pitbull” aggression will only get him so far.

“I call him Patricky ‘Chihuahua,’ but you can call him Patricky ‘Pitbull’ if you want,” he said. “He’s definitely a tough guy, but I think he’s fairly one-dimensional. He hasn’t changed his game up a whole lot over these last couple of years.”

But perhaps the most important thing Rickels has been thinking about is working his way back to another shot at lightweight gold. He won the Season 8 tournament with victories over Lloyd Woodard, Jason Fischer and a stoppage of Saad Awad. But in July 2013, he was knocked out in 44 seconds by Michael Chandler in his bid for the title.

Chandler lost the belt to Eddie Alvarez in November, and will try to reclaim it in May – on the same pay-per-view card that may just wind up featuring the Season 10 lightweight tourney final.

Rickels is looking for a return to that final to get another crack at the title, regardless of who holds it. But he’d love it if it was Chandler so he could have a measure of revenge.

“It’s important for me to set the tone of this tournament right off the bat and smash Patricky,” he said. “Get him out of there. I want everyone to know that I’m winning this f—ing thing. I want my opponent to be scared going in to my next fight.

“I felt like I have had something to prove ever since my fight with Michael Chandler. My entire life mission right now is getting back at him.”

For the latest on Bellator 113, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.