4. Patricio Freire vs. Daniel Straus 2 | Bellator 132 (Jan. 16, 2015)
Perhaps Bellator’s greatest rivalry was not a trilogy, but the tetralogy between “Patricio Pitbull,” its greatest ever fighter, and two-time featherweight champion Straus, a terrific martial artist who is sadly and undeservedly overlooked. And yes, I had took up the word “tetralogy.” Freire may have convincingly won the series 3-1 with two stoppages, but with the exception of their last meeting, which Freire won with a guillotine choke very early in Round 2, the rest were incredibly close, full-throated affairs. The best encounter was their second one in January 2015, with Straus, already a former champion, challenging Pitbull, then in his first reign, making his very first defense. Freire’s next fight is the seventh entry on this list, an incredible instance of back-to-back fights against different opponents being all-time classics. This battle began furiously. Freire had success with left kicks and his big right cross, but Straus showed powerful kicks of his own as well as a shockingly fast, technical, and powerful southpaw one-two, causing the Brazilian to retreat.
Thus it continued for the first stanza, with Straus waging war on surprisingly even terms with Freire in the stand-up. Forty-five seconds in, Freire had Straus against the cage and landed a terrific elbow to the face, followed up a series of punches. Straus returned fire with a solid left hook to the jaw to get some respect and breathing room. The highly entertaining, close round came to an end, with Freire likely edging it out. Straus continued striking well in the second stanza, landing leg kicks and a nice straight punch to the body. However, a number of his kicks featured his foot connecting with the Brazilian's junk at one point or another. They weren't hard, but it kept occurring. Soon after that, Straus changed tactics, poking Freire right in the eyes, causing the Brazilian to explode with frustration. Referee “Big John” McCarthy responded by taking a point. After they resumed, Freire tried to run the pipe with a single-leg, but Straus demonstrated great defensive wrestling and unbelievable balance. Still holding onto his leg, Freire swung and then launched Straus across the cage like a sack of potatoes—an equally impressive display, this time of strength. They continued grappling, eventually getting to a clinch, but it was a challenger who now threw Freire over his shoulder. Straus then tried a mat return, but Freire managed to stay upright, leading to a further series of wrestling scrambles. The Brazilian continually tried to take the back but Straus spun perfectly with him. When they got to their feet, the crowd was applauding, a rare reaction by a North American crowd to grappling. Freire forced Straus to his knees against the cage with more grappling and then delivered a series of effective strikes, especially several jarring knees to the body as the round ended. The pace slowed at the beginning of the third round, with both men landing solid but not huge strikes. That changed near the midpoint, as Straus delivered a long, hard left cross, snapping the champion’s head back, his best punch of the fight to that point. A cut opened up on Freire's right eye and Straus aimed a deadly left head kick at it, which the Brazilian just barely blocked in time. Soon thereafter, Straus opened up with a flurry that drove Freire to the cage. He dropped levels for a takedown, but it was Freire who retained his balance and stepped over into half-guard. After Freire briefly tried a heel hook, Straus got back up, to the approval of the fans. The round ended with him coming forward with more punches in bunches, having clearly won the stanza and perhaps now taken over the contest.
The fourth round began with both men trading strikes in the clinch, Freire preferring punches and Straus knees. Suddenly, Straus threw two jabs and then a short left cross. The second jab connected and the cross at the end hit hard, sending Freire crashing onto his butt and desperately stumbling back up. Straus fired a couple of vicious knees that partly gets through, and the champion appeared to be in serious danger, holding on for dear life in the clinch. As his eye leaked blood, Freire turned Straus around and began peppering him with punches. They started out small and inconsequential, but gradually grew in power until the crowd was roaring and Straus was covering up and then trying to counter as he did in the first stanza. He went for the same double jab into cross combo he had earlier and was successful again, though less dramatically, and then added a solid body kick for good measure. Straus then continued landing as Freire covered up, until the Brazilian suddenly walloped the challenger with a nice right hand that clearly hurt him and stopped his offense. Back and forth they went! Freire then delivered a savage knee from the clinch and as Straus crumpled over, he then landed some brutal punches from the top. McCarthy physically picked up Freire to get him off Straus, as the Brazilian celebrated, believing he had won. However, that was not the case, as McCarthy called the knee a low blow. Even on replays, it is unclear, with the kneecap appearing to hit clean, but the path of the lower leg upwards brushing up against the cup. As they deliberated and explained, Freire’s left eye was an absolute mess, blinded by all the blood pouring in. When they resumed, it was Straus again getting the better of it, peppering the champion with jabs and then a big left hand. Suddenly, with 70 seconds left, Freire showed again why he is perhaps the greatest fighting genius MMA has ever seen. He completely switched gears and went for a takedown, getting a nice double-leg pick-up and slam off the cage. He was in great position, taking the back, and peppered Straus’ side with punches. Straus made a bizarre, fatal decision to go for a kimura in this awkward position and paid for it, with Freire locking in a deep rear-naked choke, switching grips from palm-to-palm to conventional to elicit the tap with 11 seconds left. This fight truly had it all: Excellent striking at range and in the clinch. Tremendous grappling exchanges. Eye-pokes and low blows. High drama. Buckets of blood and a decisive finish. And that was just in the fourth round alone. An instant classic.
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