It may be lonely at the top, but Patricky Freire undoubtedly welcomes the solitude after enduring a 10-year odyssey to get there.
The 35-year-old Brazilian will enter his 2022 campaign as the undisputed Bellator MMA lightweight champion and with wins in eight of his last 10 appearances. Freire figures to have no shortage of would-be successors knocking at his door, with worthy contenders like Sydney Outlaw, Brent Primus, Usman Nurmagomedov and Goiti Yamauchi having formed a line behind him. For now, he can bask in the glory that comes with being just the sixth man to hold Bellator gold at 155 pounds.