Bellator made its first trip to Italy on Saturday, and Patricky Freire moved one step closer towards a shot at the lightweight belt.
Coming off a quick knockout win over Ryan Couture in January, "Pitbull" battled UFC veteran Kevin Souza for 15 minutes, scoring his ninth win under the Bellator banner with a unanimous decision.
Souza, who moved up to 155 pounds to replace injured Derek Campos on five days’ notice, tried to use his longer reach to surprise Freire standing, but the longtime Bellator veteran used well-timed takedowns to surprise the UFC veteran and score points.