Patricky Freire looking for quick knockout of Ryan Couture at Bellator 148

Patricky Freire

Patricky Freire was mentally wrecked after dropping his rematch with Derek Anderson in his most recent trip to the Bellator cage. He looks to bounce back tonight at Bellator 148 but has a tall order in front of him in red-hot Ryan Couture.

Their bout is part of the Spike-televised main card of the event, which takes place at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.

Heading into the event, Couture (10-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) is currently riding a four-fight winning streak, with all four victories coming via rear-naked choke.

Freire (14-7 MMA, 7-6 BMMA) lost to Anderson (13-2 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) by controversial split decision at Bellator 147. The win put Anderson in a position to battle Couture, but an injury opened the door for Freire to step in on slightly more than two weeks’ notice and replace his rival.

“To tell the truth, to have a more convincing win, I should have remained calmer in the first round and tried to have a more balanced performance,” Freire told MMAjunkie of the loss. “That way, there’d be less doubt. And in the third round, when I was on the ground and in his guard, I decided to get up to strike. I think if I had continued to grind it out, I would have secured the round. Even despite those details, I still feel I won that fight.”

The fight with Anderson was a rematch of their Bellator 98 battle, a much clearer decision loss for Freire.

In addition to Couture, Freire may be battling some self-doubt. He said the loss was as tough on him mentally as any in memory. It was his second defeat in three fights, a run that came after a three-fight winning streak.

“It had been a long time that I hadn’t felt so down after a loss,” Freire said. “The last time I recall feeling this way was after I broke my arm against Lloyd ‘Cupcake’ Woodard. I was sad and angry. Even my motivation and mood at home changed. That’s not good. To erase that, only a victory, and who knows – a knockout. A fast victory would leave me happy no matter how it happens. I was very sad and bothered. But now it’s time to move past that. Now it’s time for another victory so I can start 2016 on the right foot.”

Couture has a reputation for being tough. He has been stopped only once in his professional career, so Freire’s dream of a quick knockout victory may be difficult to bring to fruition.

He has little fear of Couture’s striking, nor is he afraid of the idea of Couture dragging things later than the opening round and attacking with his submission-heavy game, he said.

“He’s taller, same as Derek Anderson,” Freire said. “He leaves more openings when striking, though he has good knees and kicks. I think he’s more versatile. But I don’t think he’ll take chances with me on the feet. I imagine he’ll try to tire me out, take me down, and try for a submission, since he enjoys jiu-jitsu. I would welcome that. I’m a black belt and I’ve been practicing jiu-jitsu since I was a child. He won’t catch me by surprise.”

For more on Bellator 148, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.