In a contentious decision, Patricio Pitbull reclaims the title and ends AJ McKee’s undefeated record
Patricio Pitbull beat AJ McKee and regained the Bellator featherweight title, but not without a fight.
The first time AJ McKee and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire faced off, McKee choked out the Bellator great in under two minutes and won the Bellator featherweight championship. At Bellator 277, the contest was entirely different, with both fighters going the distance and a different winner.
Despite the mixed opinions of the MMA press and some people in the crowd at the SAP Center in San Jose, CA, Freire was chosen to fight McKee for the Bellator featherweight title.
The Bellator-exclusive McKee loses for the first time in professional mixed martial arts. Freire becomes a three-time Bellator featherweight champion, becoming the first person to do so.
At Bellator 277, Patricio Freire regains the Bellator featherweight title by defeating AJ McKee in a fight that was called for a draw.
McKee came out swinging with a series of kicks right away, but Freire sought to put him off with a powerful counter right away.
That was very much the tone of the first round, with McKee taking the lead on offense. Freire, on the other hand, held his own this time while he searched for a way inside.
In the second round, Freire seemed to find his stride again. He kept working over McKee’s body and getting better at protecting himself.
In the third round, Freire hit McKee in the ear with a shot, but McKee countered with a successful takedown of Freire.
With around 90 seconds left in the round, Freire managed to lock in a guillotine choke attempt while McKee looked to administer ground-and-pound. McKee, on the other hand, made it through the round and even made it to Freire’s back before the end.
McKee started the fifth round by landing a takedown on Freire and preventing an escape after a somewhat lackluster fourth round in which McKee seemed to do more of the action.
At the start of the round, neither man had accomplished much of an important effort. Late in the round, McKee picked up his tempo, which Freire countered, but McKee managed to land one more takedown before the bell.
Friere was declared the winner by all three judges, with two awarding him a 48-47 score and one awarding him a contentious 49-46 total.
Next: Live results and highlights from Bellator 277: AJ McKee vs. Patricio Pitbull 2.
