Patricky 'Pitbull,' in 'delicate situation' for Bellator 107, gets aggressive

Patricky Freire may have hit the nail on the head. He’s in a “delicate situation” with Bellator MMA.

With three straight losses and four in his past five fights, the lightweight has gone from hopeful title contender to fighter in a heap of trouble without a win for nearly two years.

Freire (10-5 MMA, 3-4 BMMA) hopes to change that on Friday against (James) Edson Berto (17-10-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), a former Strikeforce and EliteXC fighter who has been on a rough run of late, himself, with six losses in his past nine fights.

Their lightweight bout takes place at Bellator 107, which goes down at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs at 9 p.m. ET tonight on Spike TV following prelims, including Freire-Berto, on Spike.com at 7 p.m. ET.

“I’m in a delicate situation in our organization, since I’m coming off three losses,” Freire told MMAjunkie.com. “The first two losses, I’m OK with. But I don’t think I should have lost to Derek Anderson. So my lesson is to initiate aggression, as I always used to do – always looking to win quickly by knockout.”

“Pitbull” started his Bellator career with two highlight-reel finishes against Rob McCullough and Toby Imada to reach the Season 4 lightweight tournament final against Michael Chandler. But he lost that fight and Chandler went on to beat Eddie Alvarez to win the title.

He rebounded with a 50-second TKO win over Kurt Pellegrino, but then the trouble started. He was submitted by Lloyd Woodard in the opening round of the Season 6 tourney in March 2012. Then, in what was Alvarez’s final fight on his deal before a lengthy contract battle with Bellator, he was stopped with six seconds left in the first round.

That he can accept the stoppage losses to Woodard and Alvarez is one thing. But he said his loss to Anderson in September at Bellator 98, the Season 9 premiere, wasn’t the “Pitbull” that should be on display.

“I think when I faced Anderson, I was too cautious and I lacked rhythm,” he said. “Also, I had no experience facing or even training with someone so tall. He wasn’t that strong, but he caused a lot of problems for me.”

He’ll actually have a height advantage against Berto, who is 5-foot-6 to Freire’s 5-8. But he knows that won’t play to his advantage if he’s not careful with how he plans to attack him in the fight.

“I think he may try to seek a ground battle in the first round,” Freire said. “But I see him as a very complete fighter. He likes to strike. He’s a good boxer. He kicks well with both legs. Plus, he has 10 submission victories. I never stop training jiu-jitsu. I’m training to defend against heel hooks, since that’s one of his favorite moves. I’m working on that with Bruno Frazatto and Rousimar Palhares. Palhares has been showing me great positions, and all the dos and don’ts.

“I watch him every night before I got to bed. It’s my daily homework. Everyday I see something new. During every sparring session, I think about him, and I think about me pressuring him. This is motivating me.”

Along with his brother Patricio, a former featherweight title challenger, the “Pitbull” brothers are a Bellator fixture. So it may seem far-fetched that another loss could chase Patricky from the promotion. But that’s not on his mind.

His back may be against the wall, even if he’s trying to only concentrate on the future, and that could wind up being a problem for Berto – or so he’s hoping.

“Truthfully, those defeats are in the past and they don’t bother me,” Freire said. “But the only thing on my mind now is that I have to win – it doesn’t matter how. I have to pressure my opponent from start to finish, I have to move forward, impose my game and tire him out. I’m not worried about my current situation or about what happened in the past. I’m only concerned with finishing my opponent and walking out with a victory. Nothing else matters. If I step into the cage with so much worry, I’m likely to lose again. My only thought is victory, no matter how.”

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