Bellator vs. Rizin 2: AJ McKee vs. Patricky Freire Betting Analysis
The second installment of Bellator vs. Rizin is coming up this weekend from Saitama, Japan. The main event bout will be a first-round matchup in the lightweight Grand Prix between former featherweight champion AJ McKee and Bellator living legend Patricky Freire.
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AJ McKee vs. Patricky Freire
Location: Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan
Date and Time: July 29, 2023. 11 PM ET. Main card start
How to Watch: Showtime
McKee is coming off a dominant decision victory over Roberto Satoshi de Souza in the last Bellator x Rizin event on New Year’s Eve.
Freire is making his return from suffering a title fight loss to Usman Nurmagomedov last November.
McKee has turned into one of Bellator’s biggest stars. He is the former Bellator featherweight world title holder and then moved up to lightweight after losing his belt in the rematch to Patricky’s brother, Patricio. He is currently 20-1 with 13 finishes in his professional MMA career.
The 28-year-old Bellator veteran has spent his whole career in the promotion, holding the record for 18 consecutive victories. He stands at 5’9” and also has the record for most submissions in featherweight history (7), tied for most stoppages in Bellator history (13), and has already won the featherweight Grand Prix.
The Pitbull brothers have been at the top of Bellator for years now and have carried the promotion on their backs through the toughest years. Patricky Freire is the oldest brother and has run his own fight team in Brazil for years now.
Freire is a black belt in BJJ and has a professional MMA record of 24-11 with 16 KOs and 1 submission at age 37. He is a former lightweight world champion, and shares just about knockout and finish record in Bellator lightweight history. He shares the Bellator KO-king crown with Michael Venom Page with 10, and shares both the KO and finish records in the lightweight division with superstar Michael Chandler.
No injuries have been reported to Bellator MMA.
After completing the McKee vs. Freire betting analysis, it’s clear to see that this fight is going to be very competitive. It’s a great matchup between the pioneer of Bellator MMA and the new star of the lightweight division.
This early in fight week, only the money lines for the main card are released in sportsbooks. Since the event is in Japan, they tend not to release a lot of betting lines until later in the week. Currently, McKee is the big -285 betting favorite over Freire at +215.
If you are a true fan, you saw this event on the MMA schedule and circled it on the calendar. This is a cool way of showcasing MMA talent across the world, and it’s even more fun to bet on. Being exposed to new talent in Japan that you might not have seen before will increase your fun.
In this matchup, they used two Bellator guys as the main event because it would be a treat for the Japanese fans to see the best in both promotions going at it with $1 million on the line.
Bellator news in the United States lacks the ability to promote this event as well as it should. This event gives the vibe of old PRIDE FC events in Japan with the ring and camera angles, and it’s a blast to watch.
After breaking down the McKee vs. Freire betting analysis and previewing the betting lines for this main event bout, the prediction is pretty simple, AJ McKee will get his hand raised on Saturday night.
Freire still has his power in his hands at age 37, but McKee is just too good in every aspect. He is going to keep his range well on the feet, and his wrestling is very solid. His long limbs will be dangerous on the ground and will be tough to deal with for the much smaller Patricky Pitbull.
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