TOKYO – BELLATOR x RIZIN: Patricky vs. De Souza drew a sold-out crowd to the world-famous Saitama Super Arena as former BELLATOR Lightweight World Champion Patricky Pitbull scored an emphatic third-round TKO victory over RIZIN Lightweight Champion Roberto “Satoshi” de Souza in the main event of the BELLATOR portion. With the victory, Patricky advances to face Alexander Shabliy in the semifinals of the BELLATOR Lightweight World Grand Prix.
Lightweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinals: #2-Patricky Pitbull (25-11) def. Roberto De Souza (15-3) TKO (leg kick) at 0:49 of round three
Patricky Pitbull Quotes:
I’m very happy and I knew this job was going to end in a perfect night.
This time the vibe was much more positive, I like when I feel that energy from the Japanese fans.
It feels like a dream come true. I felt phenomenal in there. I felt like the cage was my home. Even though we’re in Japan, because of the fans I felt like I was the home fighter and he was the visitor.
He [de Souza] was very calm, he was very smart and he was surviving well in that second round.
For a flying knee you’ve got to have really good timing. To tell you the truth I don’t even remember him throwing the knee. But the flying knee is the house specialty of the Pitbull brothers. In my second fight in Bellator I received a fight of the year knockout – an Oscar in MMA – against Toby Imada with that same flying knee.
I’m always looking for the knockout, I’m always visualizing the knockout. I’m a Pitbull and that’s my instinct.
I didn’t believe I was going to finish him with kicks. I actually thought I was going to finish him with the flying knee and, if I couldn’t finish him with that, I was going to finish him with my hands.
I’m on the way, I stay on the path and it doesn’t matter who is in my path in the next round. They could change it five minutes before the fight just like they did just now. Unfortunately, it was another Brazilian in Roberto Satoshi after AJ McKee dropped out.
It doesn’t matter who is in front of me in this next round, they’re going to get beaten just like the first one. Whoever stands in front of me is going to get knocked out either way. It doesn’t matter who it is.
Like I said before, it doesn’t matter who my opponent is standing in front of me, I will destroy him. That’s what my mentality is right now in this Grand Prix.
Japan is very far. If it was a lot closer, I’d be here all the time! I want to make the connection between Brazil and Japan stronger.
Inaugural Flyweight World Championship: Kyoji Horiguchi (31-5, 1 NC) vs. Makoto “Shinryu” (16-1-1, 1 NC) ends in a No Contest (eye poke)
Flyweight Bout: #3-Kana Watanabe (12-2-1) def. #7-Veta Arteaga (7-6) via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Kana Watanabe Quotes:
I’m just relieved. But I also heard lots of cheers from the crowd, so I was very happy to hear that. I wish I could’ve showed a better match for the Japanese fans.
I thought it was going to be very close so, when I heard the decision, I was a little bit worried about how it was going to turn out. But I’m very happy and relieved about the result.
I thought she would come forward much more, but it seems her strategy was to defend my takedowns and block them, so that was a little different from what I thought. That was my plan if she came forward to me. I thought it would be easy to take her down and then go on from there.
I actually thought that if I moved in a little bit closer that would be her distance, so I had to take a little distance off and then take her down. But I think I need to practice more around those things.
She tried to come with a guillotine [in the third round] so I tried to escape under her, but I don’t think I should’ve done that.
I thought I needed to do more than take her down judo-style, so that’s what I worked on with my coach. I really enjoyed the atmosphere. I was grateful for their cheering, and I thank them very, very much.
I’m looking forward to taking the Bellator flyweight title, so I need to train harder. That’s what I’m going to do.
Bantamweight Bout: #4-Magomed Magomedov (20-3) def. #5-Danny Sabatello (14-3) via Submission (guillotine) at 3:55 of round one
Magomed Magomedov Quotes:
“I feel great; no injuries. I won, so I’m very happy.”
“No, just like I expected, he’s a very skilled wrestler and a good fighter. The only thing was that I thought he [would be] a bit stronger, but he didn’t feel as strong to me.”
“I loved it. I loved everything about it. I loved the fans, I loved the atmosphere. The fans here are very knowledgeable. I love the culture. I came here before the fight to acclimate, and I would love to come back here again.”
“I’m very happy. The fight was very technical. He took my back. He had pretty good control, probably some of the best I’ve felt, and I’ve been in that position many times. I actually had to give up my neck just to get out of it. It was a very technical scramble; it was like a chess match. I was amazed at how much the audience appreciated it, understood it, and reacted to it. Like no other audience in the world. I grew up in the early 2000s, late 90s watching PRIDE on TV at the Saitama Super Arena, so for me to fight here was always a dream, a dream now come true. I love it.”
“Right now, I’d like to back it home. I haven’t seen my family in a long time. It’s summer, so I’d like to see and spend time with my family. Then, we’ll go from there.”
“It was pretty tight. He tried to get out; he almost slipped out, but in the end, if he didn’t tap he would go to sleep. I could feel it. He was going to go to sleep.”
fighting for the title soon: “I hope so. Obviously, that’s the goal. If BELLATOR sees fit, I would love to fight the winner of [Bantamweight World Grand Prix winner Patchy] Mix and [Bantamweight World Champion Sergio] Pettis. If it’s Mix, I would love to run it back. I got caught in his trap [in our first fight]. Kind of started a little late. I would love to get a rematch And if it’s Pettis, I’ve never fought him before, so that would be great. I’ve been in this sport for a long time, and I think I need to win the title. It would be a big deal because Khabib’s brother [Umar Nurmagomedov] couldn’t come to a title fight just yet, he just got injured, so maybe I could win. It’d be a good story: a kid from Dagestan.”
On if his win proved Dagestani wrestling’s superiority to American wrestling: “Listen, I don’t want to start ‘Our wrestling’ vs. ‘Your wrestling.’ Both countries have great wrestling; there’s differences in style. American wrestling is more freestyle, more toward the legs and leg takedowns. We’re a little bit more technical in the scramble and top-side.. There’s great wrestlers on both sides. You have Jordan Burroughs, an Olympic wrestler. But maybe we’ve edged a little bit because in Dagestan, per capita, 10,000 kids are wrestling. If you look at the population — 10,000! The competition is very high. If you’re a really good wrestler from there, you’ve gone through some enormous competition. But otherwise, I would just call it a peaceful draw. Nobody’s wrestling ‘wins.’”
Welterweight Bout: #5-Andrey Koreshkov (27-4) def. #9-Lorenz Larkin (25-8, 2 NC) via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Andrey Koreshkov Quotes:
“I’m feeling very good. I’m very happy because I didn’t disappoint my team. It’s great. I’m very happy because it’s not only my win, it’s the win of my teammates, my coaches. It’s our victory… I’m very happy for this win. Of course, many Russians have fought in Japan and won here. I’m very happy to write my name in history with this fight.”
On his first fight with his opponent Lorenz Larkin: “In my opinion, I didn’t [lose the] last fight, I won the last fight. But the judges thought I lost. This fight was different because my opponent had a different plan. I didn’t expect it, but we worked in our gym with my coach, and we were ready for anything in the fight.”
“Lorenz is a great fighter. He’s a very tough fighter. [In] my opinion, to fight with Lorenz for any fighter in our division is a crazy hard and tough fight. Lorenz can beat anybody, like [I can]. He is a tough test, but today, it’s my win. I’m very happy.”
On the Japanese fight fans: “[The] atmosphere was great because I’ve never seen so many people in an arena…Today, I see 24,000 people. It’s great. I was in a fight, and it’s a little bit different. I can say about Japanese fans [that they’re] good fans… To fight here is very good. I love this place. It’s a great place, and I think all fighters like to fight here.”
On his next fight: “Right now, I really don’t know. But my goal is the title shot, a title fight. I want to get back my belt. It is my main goal… It’s hard to say [if I will fight for the championship next], but my main goal is the title fight and to try to get back my belt.”
“Really, I don’t know [who is next for me]. Because [Michael Page] ‘MVP’ is a free agent right now. We have Logan Storley, maybe. Maybe Neiman Gracie. Jason Jackson, I think is [the] next challenger. Probably, for me, it doesn’t matter. I’m ready for anybody… Maybe I fight with the winner of [Storley vs. Brennan Ward].”
