5. Patricio Freire
Not surprisingly, I consider Bellator's greatest champion to be woefully underrated here. I had him ranked at No. 3 and think there is a strong argument for him being second. I've written glowingly about “Pitbull” before, noting that he is an excellent striker and an outstanding grappler, but his most amazing quality is his unmatched intelligence and discipline, exploiting even the smallest opponent weakness and implementing the most complex game plans perfectly for 25 straight minutes. Despite having fought for more than half his life and being 35, Freire is an amazing 34-5, which includes three stints as Bellator's featherweight champion and an eye-popping 8 title defenses. He has defeated a slew of good and even great opposition, though many don't get their due, including defeating Wilson Reis twice, the second by knockout, knocking out Georgi Karakhanyan, defeating Dan Weichel twice, once by knockout, dominating Pat Curran, demolishing Diego Nunes in slightly over a minute, submitting Henry Corrales, defeating Emmanuel Sanchez twice, beating Juan Archuleta from bell to bell, defeating Daniel Straus three out of four times, the last by submission, and most recently, shutting out Adam Borics. Freire also became a champ-champ when he knocked out Bellator lightweight champion and legend Michael Chandler, a man who has knocked out multiple UFC lightweight champions and despite being seen as past his prime, come within a whisker of becoming UFC lightweight champion himself against Charles Oliveira. Freire's time at the top seemed to be at an end when the undefeated dynamo A.J. McKee beat him for the title in 2021 in just under two minutes, but one should never have counted out the brilliant Brazilian, who fought a perfect fight in the rematch to win a close decision over 25 minutes. He may never get his proper due, but Patricio Freire is truly a legend among legends.
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