Patricio “Pitbull” Freire tipped the scales at 144 pounds for his 2010 Bellator Fighting Championships featherweight tournament final against
Joe Warren (144) at Bellator 23 on Thursday at Fourth Street Live in Louisville, Ky.
The six other individuals booked to compete on the main card -- including 2010 Bellator middleweight tournament finalists
Alexander Shlemenko (185) and
Bryan Baker (184) -- also met their mandated weight requirements at Wednesday’s official weigh-in.
Unbeaten in 14 fights as a professional, Freire advanced to the final with a first-round submission victory over
William Romero at Bellator 15 and a unanimous decision nod against
Wilson Reis at Bellator 18. The 22-year-old Brazilian has delivered 11 of his 14 wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
Warren, meanwhile, clinched his place in the match with consecutive unanimous decisions against
John Eric Marriott at Bellator 13 and
Georgi Karakhanyan at Bellator 18. A decorated amateur wrestler who won gold at the 2006 Pan-Am Games, the 2006 FILA Wrestling World Championships and the 2007 Wrestling World Cup, the 33-year-old was an All-American at the University of Michigan.
The winner of the Freire-Warren showdown will earn a crack at unbeaten Bellator featherweight champion
Joe Soto later this year. The 23-year-old Soto stopped UFC veteran
Diego Saraiva on a first-round cut at Bellator 19 in May.
Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (144) vs.
Joe Warren (144)
Alexander Shlemenko (185) vs.
Bryan Baker (184)
Nik Mamalis (135) vs.
Albert Rios (135)
Zoila Frausto (120) vs.
Rosi Sexton (121)
John Troyer (171) vs.
Brent Weedman (170)
Daniel Straus (154) vs.
Chad Hinton (156)
Stoney Hale (182) vs.
Mike Fleniken (183)
*
David Overfield (160) vs. Kurt Kinser (155)
* Kinser agreed to a 160-pound catchweight match after Overfield checked in overweight
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