The Bellator featherweight title is no stranger to rematches, and it will get another one in July’s Bellator 203 headliner.
Current Bellator 145-pound champ Patricio Freire (26-4 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) will run it back with Daniel Weichel(39-9 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) at Bellator 203, which takes place July 14 at Foro Italico in Rome. The card will likely air via same-day delay on Paramount, though broadcast plans have not been announced.
A Bellator official verified the Freire-Weichel title rematch with MMAjunkie following a social-media announcement from one of the fighters (via Instagram):
Freire and Weichel had their first encounter at Bellator 138 in July 2015. “Pitbull” was compromised by the challenger near the end of the opening round, but he then turned the tide quickly in the second frame. The Brazilian knocked Weichel out just 32 seconds into Round 2, but he’s alternated wins and losses in his four fights since.
The rematch marks the third rematch of Freire’s Bellator tenure. He’s also fought Daniel Straus and Pat Curran more than once. Weichel, who has won four straight bouts since losing his first meeting with Freire, will have a rematch for the first time in his Bellator career.
The Bellator 203 co-main event sees Italy’s own Alessio Sakara (19-12 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) return to the light-heavyweight division following a failed middleweight title bid. He takes on Jamie Sloane (8-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who makes his promotional debut at the event.
Bellator Kickboxing 10 takes place the same night as Bellator 203. The event features an inaugural lightweight title bout between Giorgio Petrosyan (85-2-2) and Chingiz Allazov (53-2) as well as a featherweight title matchup between champ Kevin Ross (45-13) and challenger Gabriel Varga (21-6).
For more on Bellator 203, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
