Fighting in Japan has always been Patricky Freire's dream, and he will finally confirm this on his bucket list two weeks later.
On October 12, “Pitbull” enters the Rizin FF Lightweight Grand Prix. He will meet former UFC fighter Tatsuya Kawajiri at the opening ceremony of the Rizin FF 19 tournament in Osaka, Japan.
Prior to Los Angeles last week, Bloody Elbow told Bloody Elbow that he had a dream to fight there because he saw a lot of pride before starting MMA before the fight of Brother Bella 228.
“I like the behavior of fans. Fighters are like the spirit of a samurai. I also like Japanese culture. ”
Fighters in Asia-based promotions compete with a different set of rules than those used in most Western shows like UFC and Bellator. Some of the other rules include the legitimacy of a soccer kick and knee in the head of a grounded opponent.
Freire expects more tools to be available in the fight against Kawajiri.
"I think I had seven fights to follow the same rule," says Freire. “We won three times with football. OK. I have no problem with this. Now we need some fun. ”
It will go to Japan longer than he used to fight. And Freire admitted that he was a bit worried about it.
Freire said. “Twelve hours is different from Brazil. scary."
But it wasn't a long flight that Freire didn't get a chance to fight in Japan.
"I'm going to kill, fight and dream," he said.
Freire plans to return to Bellator after the Rizin tournament. Inspired by Kyoji Horiguchi, he said he hopes to win titles at Rizin and Bellator. But his brother Patricio is a Bellator lightweight champion, so it's unclear what will happen in a scenario where Patricky deserves a 155 pound title shot. Patricio said he is currently competing in the Bellator featherweight grand prix but wants to keep both titles in the future.
When asked about Kawajiri, Freire immediately called him "big name."
"I respect him," Freire said. “But that's my job. I want to go there and bow my head like a samurai. ”