The Bellator MMA cage was in San Jose, Calif. on Saturday as the SAP Center hosted Bellator 183: Henderson vs. Pitbull. Lightweights Benson Henderson and Patricky “Pitbull” Freire headlined the fight card and the three judges couldn’t agree on the winner resulting in a split decision.
Henderson, the former UFC 155-pound champion, utilized a kicking heavy offense mixed with takedown attempts. Freire showed that he can defend a takedown and land big counter shots.
The opening round was competitive. Almost all of the second round was consumed with Henderson working to get “Pitbull” to the ground. As Henderson looked for a single-leg takedown, Freire jumped into the air with a knee that landed. In the closing seconds of the frame, Freire took Henderson down.
“Pitbull” shook off three takedown attempts in the final round and landed power shots. It was enough to sway two of the judges in his favor. After the split decision win, “Pitbull” called out current lightweight champion Brent Primus.
“I eat former champions for breakfast. I want Brent Primus,” said Freire. “You have my gold. You have my belt. Stop running from Pitbull. You know you’ve run two times. Two times! I come for you.”
In the co-main event, welterweight strikers Paul Daley and Lorenz Larkin met in a grudge match after nearly coming to blows at the official weigh-ins on Friday. They did not touch gloves before the fight.
Daley scored his 30th knockout win midway through the second frame in a fight that saw him look for takedowns. The two clinched and as they separated Daley missed with a spinning back fist but landed with a left hook. Larkin was left stiff in his stance and Daley put him down with a follow-up combination. Larkin crashed to the canvas. After Larkin absorbed two hammer fists, the referee stepped in to stop the fight.
“Like I said building up to this, the only people that stood with my successfully are Nick Diaz and Douglas Lima. Anybody else in the welterweight division that stands with me is getting knocked the (expletive) out,” said Daley after his 40th career win. “That’s how every fight goes. Everybody wants to take it to the ground after a little while. You stay standing with me, you get knocked out. It’s as simple as that.”
“One of those rematches I can’t get and the other is fighting Rory MacDonald in January,” added Daley before calling out rival Michael “Venom” Page.
“Back home (in England) you’ve got a very similar character to me: a little young boy called MVP over in the U.K. that keeps talking on social media. Get that little punk in here with me and he’s getting knocked out as well,” he said.
This article first appeared at News – MMAWeekly.com
