After a couple of rematches stole the featherweight division’s spotlight in Bellator, it’s time that we got a new and fresh matchup.
Bellator will be heading back to Israel for the third time in the organization’s history as they’ll drop down in Tel Aviv at Menora Mivtachim Arena on November 15th. In the main event will the featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire defending against the red-hot Emmanuel Sanchez reports MMAJunkie.
Both Pitbull and Sanchez are two of Bellator’s top homegrown fighters. For Pitbull, he’s been with the promotion since 2010 and fought 19 times resulting in him holding the record for most wins (14) and finishes (10) in Bellator history. Sanchez joined in 2014 where he’s fought 11 times since.
The two-time champion Pitbull has had a total of seven title fights so far and they’ve been fought against only three different opponents.
In April 2017, Pitbull won back the title from his rival Daniel Straus that he had lost in 2015. Pitbull successfully defended the crown last month in a rematch against another rival in Germany’s Daniel Weichel.
Amassing a 9-2 record in Bellator (17-3 overall), Sanchez has been must-see TV and is finally getting his due.
Having racked up four straight victories with the most recent two coming via submissions over Sam Sicilia and the former champion Straus, Sanchez has more than proved that he’s ready for his shot. Before the Straus win, he also defeated another former champion in Marcos Galvao.
Sanchez will present a very different fight for the champion, Pitbull as his killer instinct is probably higher than many of Pitbull’s previous opponents. The way that he latched up his arm-triangle choke over Sicilia while standing was something every future opponent will need to be wary of.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/16/2018