Thanks to the “champion’s choice” twist, Patricio Freire had a big decision to make during the selection process for the Bellator featherweight grand prix quarterfinals bracket: he could fight anyone he wanted.
The 145-pound champion, who on Saturday retained his title with a decision win over Juan Archuleta in the Bellator 228 co-main event, made it known ahead of time that he wanted to fight at the latest date.
That would be March 2020, which by the time it was Freire’s turn to pick, was already taken by Darrion Caldwell and Pedro Carvalho. But due to his status as champion, Freire, who had the No.