Second-Round Stoppage Hands Patricky Freire Lightweight Crown in Bellator 270 Headliner

The Pitbull legacy continues! #AndNew @PatrickyPitbull joins his brother @PatricioPitbull in the history books as a Bellator Lightweight champion! #Bellator270 pic.twitter.com/8TPMWWD9eF

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) November 5, 2021

Patricky Freire stands alone after a decade-long climb.

“Pitbull” brought home the vacant Bellator MMA lightweight championship, as he wiped out Peter Queally with punches in the second round of their Bellator 270 headliner on Friday at 3Arena in Dublin. Unable to ride a wave of emotion that saw a ravenous crowd serenade him with The Cranberries’ “Zombie,” Queally (13-6-1, 2-2 Bellator) succumbed to blows 65 seconds into Round 2.

Freire (24-10, 15-8 Bellator)—who debuted with the organization in March 2011—made his intentions known from the start, attacking the Irishman with stinging leg kicks and hooks to the body from both hands. After an eye poke briefly delayed the Brazilian’s march to the title early in Round 2, he decked Queally with a devastating right hand. The SBG Ireland rep tried to return to an upright position, only to stumble across the cage on rubbery legs. Queally eventually stood along the fence but turtled in a defensive shell, offering nothing in terms of meaningful resistance. Freire unleashed a series of thudding right hands in response, forcing referee Kevin MacDonald to intervene.

Meanwhile, former King of the Cage champion Patrick Mix submitted James Gallagher with a guillotine choke in the third round of their bantamweight co-main event. Mix (15-1, 4-1 Bellator), who missed weight for the match by nearly two pounds, drew the curtain 39 seconds into Round 3.

Gallagher (11-2, 8-2 Bellator) surprised the Angola, New York, native with darting combinations upstairs, threw in a few takedowns and made passes at his own guillotines. Mix waded through fatigue in the second round, where he seized the reins with top control and ground-and-pound. Early in the third, he caught Gallagher ducking in for a takedown, ensnared him in the choke and wrapped the Irishman in full guard, ultimately securing his position with a body triangle. Mix then moved to mount and prompted the tapout, temporarily silencing the crowd.

The setback closed the book on Gallagher’s four-fight winning streak.

Elsewhere, SBG Ireland’s Pedro Carvalho withstood two knockdowns, as he leaned on stellar defensive grappling, superior cardio and opportunistic multi-punch bursts in a unanimous decision over former M-1 Global champion Daniel Weichel in a three-round featherweight showcase. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Carvalho (12-5, 5-2 Bellator).

Weichel (41-13, 10-5 Bellator) floored “The Game” with clean right hands in the first and second rounds, pounced for a potential stoppage on both occasions and ultimately transitioned to the back, where he threatened with rear-naked chokes and armbars. Nothing stuck. Carvalho maintained a brisk pace, pressed forward with punches and slowly but surely turned the tide in his favor. Resilience carried him to the finish line.

The win was Carvalho’s first since Sept. 7, 2019.

In other action, Ilias Bulaid (3-0, 3-0 Bellator) took a split verdict—29-28, 28-29, 30-27—from Georges Sasu (5-2, 0-1 Bellator) in a three-round featherweight match; Ciaran Clarke (4-0, 4-0 Bellator) submitted Jordan Barton (6-2-1, 0-1 Bellator) with a rear-naked choke 4:11 into the third round of their featherweight confrontation; Daniele Scatizzi (11-5, 3-1 Bellator) pocketed a unanimous verdict over Brian Hooi (16-9, 0-1 Bellator) drawing 29-28 marks from all three judges; Lee Chadwick (27-15-1, 3-2 Bellator) laid claim to a split decision—28-29, 30-27, 29-28—over Arunas Andriuskevicus (15-5, 1-1 Bellator) in a three-round light heavyweight scrap; Gokhan Saricam (6-1, 2-1 Bellator) put away Charlie Milner (7-2, 0-1 Bellator) with punches 15 seconds into the first round of their heavyweight encounter; Nicolo Solli (4-1, 3-1 Bellator) eked out a split decision—30-27, 28-29, 29-28—over Bobby Pallett (5-1, 0-1 Bellator) in a three-round welterweight battle; Danni Neilan (5-0, 4-0 Bellator) took care of Audrey Kerouche (6-7, 0-1 Bellator) with punches 3:58 into the third round of their women’s strawweight clash; and Yusuf Nazokatov (1-0, 1-0 Bellator) submitted Stephen Costello (0-1, 0-1 Bellator) with a heel hook 2:24 into the first round of their welterweight pairing.