By The Numbers: Patricky Freire vs. Roberto Satoshi de Souza

Brian KnappJul 26, 2023

Patricky Freire will square off with Roberto Satoshi de Souza when their makeshift Bellator MMA lightweight grand prix quarterfinal headlines Bellator x Rizin 2 on Saturday at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The winner advances to the tournament semifinal, where Alexander Shabliy lies in wait.

Freire enters the eight-man draw having lost three of his past four bouts. “Pitbull” last competed at Bellator 288, where he surrendered the company’s lightweight crown to Usman Nurmagomedov in a five-round unanimous decision on Nov. 18. Satoshi, meanwhile, steps in on less than a week’s notice to replace the injured A.J. McKee. The two-time Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship gold medalist last fought on May 6, when he outpointed Spike Carlyle to a unanimous verdict at Rizin 42.

As Freire and Satoshi approach their forthcoming battle at a 161-pound catchweight, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:

37: Years of age for Freire, who was born in Mossoro, Brazil, on Jan. 21, 1986.

16: Freire victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 67% of his career total (24). His list of Bellator victims: Derek Campos (twice), Peter Queally, Roger Huerta, Josh Thomson, Ryan Couture, David Rickels, Kurt Pellegrino, Toby Imada and Rob McCullough. Freire owns one other victory by submission (4%)—he took care of Ermesson Silveira Queiroz with a guillotine choke at a Gouveia Fight Championship show in 2010—and seven more by decision (29%).

28: Seconds needed for Freire to bury Luiz Gustavo with punches and a soccer kick at Rizin 20 on Dec. 31, 2019. Nearly four years later, it remains his fastest finish to date.

78: Rounds started by Freire as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 14 different occasions and carries a 7-7 record in those bouts.

.719: Cumulative winning percentage between the four opponents—Queally, Michael Chandler, Eddie Alvarez and Lloyd Mix—who have finished Freire. They boast a combined record of 80-31-1.

33: Years of age for Satoshi, who was born on Sept. 19, 1989 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

10: Satoshi wins by submission, accounting for 67% of his career total (15). His methods of choice: four rear-naked chokes, two triangle chokes, two triangle armbars, one arm-triangle choke and one armbar. Satoshi holds four other wins by knockout or technical knockout (27%) and one more by decision (6%).

2,183: Days spent by Satoshi as an undefeated mixed martial artist. He made his pro debut on Oct. 20, 2013 and started his career a perfect 9-0 before being struck into submission by Johnny Case at Rizin 19 on Oct. 12, 2019.

11: Consecutive calendar years in which Satoshi has fought at least once. In addition to his 1-0 mark in 2023, he went 1-0 in 2013, 1-0 in 2014, 1-0 in 2015, 2-0 in 2016, 1-0 in 2017, 1-0 in 2018, 2-1 in 2019, 1-0 in 2020, 3-0 in 2021 and 1-1 in 2022.

48: Combined victories between the two opponents—McKee and Case—who have beaten Satoshi. They sport a cumulative .822 winning percentage at 48-10-1.