Patricky "Pitbull" Freire knocked out Tatsuya Kawajiri in just 70 seconds on Saturday to advance to the RIZIN lightweight grand prix semifinal. But he was close to pulling from the 155-pound tournament due to a knee injury.
Back to Brazil after his victorious trip to Osaka, Japan, the Bellator fighter told MMAFighting he injured his left knee during grappling training just 10 days before the fight, and he considered withdrawing from the quarterfinal contest.
“I heard a pop and stopped training immediately,” Freire said. “I knew it was hurt. I couldn’t train anymore.