A reigning two-division champion, the best fighter in Bellator MMA history. A dynamic 26-year-old prospect with a perfect 17-0 professional record. The Bellator featherweight championship and $1 million at stake. What fight fan wouldn’t want to see this? That is not the most important question, however. When Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire risks his 145-pound gold against undefeated A.J. McKee, the more pressing issue will be “Who is actually going to see it?”
This Saturday night presents us not just with a brilliant, hotly anticipated showdown between Freire and McKee in the Bellator MMA featherweight tournament final, a potential “Fight of the Year” with rich stakes involved, but an anomalous MMA moment, as Bellator 263 goes up against the UFC Vegas 33 card.