Patricio Freire submitted Emmanuel Sanchez at Bellator 255 in the first round last Friday night (April 2, 2021) not only to retain the promotion’s Featherweight title, but advance to the finals in the 145-pound World Grand Prix tournament (watch highlights). With the victory — his seventh in a row — “Pitbull” will now meet undefeated A.J. McKee (17-0) later this year to determine the tournament’s winner and the chance to take home a whopping $1 million prize.
Before that happens, take a look at how Freire and McKee made it to the finals in the updated bracket below:
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Not pictured is Freire’s unanimous decision win over Juan Archuleta in the opening round, as well as McKee’s eight-second knockout over Georgi Karakhanyan in his first round showdown (both in Sept. 2019).
While the promotion has yet to give any indication as to when and where the title fight/finale will take place, it is without a doubt one of the biggest championship bouts in the promotion’s history. Bellator couldn’t have scripted the outcome of the finals any better with the defending champion (and its biggest star) making it all the way through against an undefeated stud who has all of the weapons to pull off the upset.
Predictions?