Patricio “Pitbull” Freier faces Daniel Weichel on Saturday night at Bellator 203 (Photo: Bellator – Lucas Noonan)
By Chris Robinson
Bellator 203: Pitbull vs Weichel 2 takes place this Saturday night, July 14, from Forco Italico in Rome, Italy and the main event is one not to miss. Featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (26-4) will be taking on Daniel Weichel (39-9) for a second time in a rematch that will surely settle some kind of score.
All one has to do is take a look back and their first fight to get a sense of how much drama was in the air as they squared off in St. Louis, Missouri in June of 2015. Weichel was filling in for an injured Georgi Karakhanyan and fought very well in the first round. I rewatched the fight earlier tonight and was impressed by how much skill was on display from each man.
Freier was the smaller man but often was pressing the initiative. Late in the first, however, he was caught by a volley of punches from Weichel and appeared to be knocked out as the bell for the end of the first round sounded. There was some initial confusion, as Weichel thought he has scored the victory, but Freier was saved by the bell. As the second round started, Freir then turned the tables with a counter left hook that ended Weichel’s night.
Weichel has since gone on a four-fight win streak to earn this second chance, while Freire is still riding with confidence as a champion. The two men faced off earlier this week inside of the Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome’s Capitol Hill, in advance of the rematch.
It’s been three years but this one figures to be worth the wait. Complete info on the card can be found below.
Bellator 203 Fight Card:
Featherweight World Title Bout: Patricio “Pitbull” (26-4) vs. Daniel Weichel (39-9)
Light Heavyweight Feature Event: Alessio Sakara (19-12, 2 NC) vs. Jamie Sloane (8-4, 1 NC)
Welterweight Main Card Bout: Andrey Koreshkov (20-2) vs. Vaso Bakocevic (33-17-1)
Middleweight Main Card Bout: Alen Amedovski (5-0) vs. Will Fleury (4-0)
Lightweight Main Card Bout: Simone La Preziosa (3-4) vs. Maxim Radu (8-1)
Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Simone D’Anna (4-1) vs. Michele Martignoni (3-0)
Bellator Kickboxing 10 Main Card:
Featherweight World Title Bout: Kevin Ross (45-13) vs. Gabriel Varga (15-6)
Lightweight Feature Bout: Giorgio Petrosyan (82-2-2, 1 NC) vs. Chingiz Allazov (56-2)
Featherweight Main Card Bout: Gaston Bolanos (11-1) vs. Domenico Lomurno (31-8)
Women’s Flyweight Main Card Bout: Martine Michieletto (21-11-3) vs. Gloria Peritore (13-2-1)
200-lb. Catchweight Main Card Bout: Mattia Faraoni (27-4) vs. Raffaele Vitale (57-9)
Bellator Kickboxing 10 Preliminary Card:
183-lb. Catchweight Preliminary Bout: Gabriele Casella (18-2-1) vs. Alex Negrea (11-5)
Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Davide Armanini (29-1) vs. Fatmir Gordi (23-3)
Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Antonio Campagna (26-15-3) vs. Florenzo Pesare (31-9)
Flyweight Savate Bout: Leonardo Caputi (13-8-4) vs. Tarik Totss (3-10-2)
*** Check the video below for a look back at Pitbull vs. Weichel 1
Chris Robinson can be reached at CRobinson@hustleboss.com