Heading into his showdown with Patricio Freire at Bellator 255 this Friday on Showtime, Emmanuel Sanchez is confident he will win the Bellator Featherweight Title as part of the promotion’s grand prix semifinal.
Sanchez (20-4 MMA, 12-3 BMMA) believes he can defeat Freire in 3 rounds. “Watch the fight between us, he was running from me,” Sanchez added. “He’s a great fight, I respect his skill. He motivated me.” In their first matchup in 2018 for the Featherweight World Championship, “Pitbull” defeated Sanchez via unanimous decision.
“After I defeat him, I know we will meet him again,” said Sanchez at the Bellator 255 press conference. “I was motivated by him, he went on to defeat Michael Chandler and become the champ, champ.”
“I find it more calming,” said Sanchez about sharing the cage with Pitbull once again. “I’m staying calm all the way through. I do know that I can defeat him and turning my dreams into reality.”
Sanchez trains at Roufusport in Milwaukee along with the likes of Anthony and Sergio Pettis. During the pandemic, he was able to teach cardio classes via zoom on behalf of the gym. “It was fun,” said the upbeat Sanchez. “I believe I was showing people that you can do exercise on your own.” Sanchez lives next to the gym so he was able to get workouts in when he was able to do so. He worked out in his backyard as well during the shutdown. He notes, “I felt that throughout the whole time I got better. I put myself through a little weight-cut.” Sanchez did this to test himself as he prepared for his next fight whenever that would occur.
This time around, Sanchez believes he can take care of Pitbull and avenge his loss. In his last fight, he avenged a loss to Daniel Weichel this past November at Bellator 252. Sanchez earned a unanimous decision over Weichel in the quarterfinal of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix.
During his media day interview, he was asked about his old coach Ben Askren. Sanchez told the story that when he first sparred with Askren, he threw a spinning backfist at him. He noted that he’s rooting for Askren as he takes on Jake Paul in April.
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