‘Pitbull’ Defends Featherweight Crown with Decision Over Adam Borics at Bellator 286

📊 By The Numbers#AndStill Featherweight World Champion, @PatricioPitbull dominates over @AdamBorics in the #Bellator286 main event. pic.twitter.com/lUEzlIKKA3

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 2, 2022

There’s no question that Patricio Freire is one of the greatest featherweights in the history of mixed martial arts and on Saturday night in the Bellator 286 main event, he added another win to his tally.

Freire (34-5) outclassed No. 2 ranked featherweight contender Adam Borics and he did it with incredible ease, wining nearly every single minute of the five-round affair. “Pitbull” landed thudding leg kicks and scattered jabs and hooks while on the feet, relegating Borics to single strikes for much of their fight. Borics had apparently fallen in love with his flying knee since he’s scored three knockouts with it; he tried it over and over against the defending Bellator featherweight king, only to miss and be taken down virtually every time.

Borics (18-2) wanted badly to become Hugary’s first-ever MMA world champion, but he seemingly had no Plan B against Freire other than defend submission attempts following being taken down. The capacity crowd routinely booed the lack of action, but it triggered neither man to step up the aggression. Instead, Freire coasted down the stretch and was awarded a unanimous decision win via tallies of 48-47, 49-46 and 50-45.

McKee Topples Carlyle in Wild Co-Main Event

The last time the world had seen A.J. McKee inside the cage, he was defeated for the first time as a pro, lost his Bellator MMA featherweight title and didn’t know exactly what to do next.

Fast forward nearly six months, and McKee (19-1) prevailed in one of the wildest fights of 2022 thus far, toppling Spike Carlyle via unanimous decision in McKee’s lightweight debut. The two men collided mid-cage and waged a wicked war of strikes before the battle turned into a frenzied grappling match. The two fought in a virtual phone booth for three full rounds: Carlyle (14-4) survived punches and elbows to the head that wobbled him and a seemingly endless tsunami of takedowns and submission attempts. Just as one expected “The Crucifixion” to finally be finished, Carlyle stormed back and rallied, only to be taken down again and caught in precarious positions. “The Mercenary” was awarded a unanimous decision win via tallies of 29-26, 30-26 and 30-27 and said after his triumph that his sight is set on the lightweight title.

Related » Bellator 286 Round-by-Round Scoring

Pico Injures Shoulder, Loses to Kennedy

Aaron Pico (10-4) started off well against Jeremy Kennedy in their anticipated featherweight showdown, landing a hard right cross and wobbling him early. However, when Kennedy (18-3) ducked under a left hook and scored a takedown, that’s where everything unraveled.

Pico powered back to his feet, but he motioned to his corner that his left shoulder was injured. Kennedy was relentless from that point forward, taking Pico back down and seizing his back. While “JBC” couldn’t sink the rear-naked choke, he won the opening frame and, eventually, the fight. Just before the second stanza was about to begin, referee Blake Grice had the cage-side doctor enter the ring and examine Pico, who pleaded to allow him to continue. But even after it appeared as though the left shoulder was popped back into its socket, the doctor waived off the bout, giving Kennedy the TKO win at 5:00 of the first.

Archuleta Outpoints Barzola in 15-Minute War

With both men coming off of heartbreaking losses, Juan Archuleta and Enrique Barzola fought like their careers were on the line in the opening bout of the Bellator 286 main card.

Archuleta (26-4) was relentless for three rounds, scoring multiple takedowns and landing scattered punches to the head and body. Barzola (18-7-2) stayed right with his foe throughout, scrambling to his feet every time he was taken down. “The Spaniard” was taken down in the closing minute of the fight and Barzola took his back, but “En Fuerte” was unable to sink in the rear-naked choke, lost position and traded punches until the final bell. As close and thrilling as the 141-pound catchweight battle was, all three judges favored Archuleta with 30-27 scores.

Mamedov Dominates Browne in Featured Prelim Bout

Highly-ranked lightweight contender Islam Mamedov was superb against Nick Browne in the featured preliminary bout, winning a lopsided unanimous decision. Mamedov (22-2) scored multiple takedowns and dished out solid ground striking en route to scores of 30-27 across the board over Browne (13-2). In other action, lightweight contender Jay-Jay Wilson (9-1) launched dozens of submission attempts at Vladimir Tokov (8-2) for three full rounds but never landed any of them, settling for a split decision win via scores of 29-28 (twice) and 28-29; middleweight contender Khalid Murtazaliev (16-3) tore up Khadzhimurat Bestaev (11-5) and stopped him with a vicious elbows and punches at 3:02 of the second; Hawaiian prospect Sumiko Inaba improved to 5-0 with a dominant performance against fellow flyweight Nadine Mandiau (2-6) and won a unanimous decision via tallies of 29-28 and 30-27 (twice); Weber Almeida (7-1) dominated Ryan Lilley (11-9) for three rounds but the featherweight somehow won via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28); lightweight Lance Gibson Jr. (7-0) subbed Dominic Clark (15-13) via triangle choke at 1:49 of the first; bantamweight prospect Bobby Seronio III (3-0) easily toppled Miguel Peimbert (1-2) to win a unanimous decision (30-27 x3) and in the opening bout of the evening, C.J. Hamilton (16-9) won his Bellator debut when bantamweight foe Richard Palencia (10-1) snapped his left leg when Hamilton checked a kick, ending the bout just 12 ticks into the second round.