There have been two late changes made to PFL vs Bellator CHAMPS card, with Patricio Pitbull and Aaron Pico now both facing different opponents on Saturday February 24th.
The landmark card is set to feature numerous PFL and Bellator champions facing off against each other and comes after PFL acquired Bellator at the back end of 2023.
The fight night will be part of the hugely successful 2023/24 Riyadh season - which has already witnessed PFL star Francis Ngannou swap the smart cage for the ring and go toe to toe with Tyson Fury.
Initially, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire was scheduled to face 2023 PFL Featherweight champion, and one of the standout athletes of the whole season, Jesus Pinedo. After losing a split decision in the opening round of the season, Pinedo pulled off one of the upsets of the season when he stopped 2022 champion Brendan Loughnane in the very first round.
After missing weight, it was imperative for Pinedo to stop Bubba Jenkins in the semi-final - and he did in the second round. This led to a final showdown against Gabriel Alves Braga, of whom Pinedo stopped in the third round to be crowned 2023 PFL champion.
Due to the Pinedo withdrawal, Braga will now step in to face his fellow Brazilian in Saudi Arabia. Prior to his loss in the PFL championship final, Braga had not tasted defeat. After turning professional in 2018, Braga moved quickly and claimed three first round stoppages in his first four fights.
After his 6th bout, Braga had almost a year away from the cage but returned with an impressive unanimous decision win against the vastly more experienced Rogerio Ferreira at LFA 126. He then beat Faeez Jacobs on UAE Warriors 20 before getting a shot on the PFL Challenger series. A good win then led to him joining the PFL Regular Season just one month later.
‘Pitbull’ is, and has been for some years, one of the most recognisible faces on the Bellator scene. The Bellator Featherweight champion is considered by many to be one of the greatest fighters to ever pull on a pair of Bellator gloves. For the first time in his career ‘Pitbull’ finds himself entering a contest on the back of consecutive losses, having been beaten by Sergio Pettis and Chihiro Suzuki. Any opponent of Pitbull knows they need to be wary throughout every second of the contest as he possesses the power to render opponents unconscious in an instant.
With Braga stepping up to face Pitbull, Aaron Pico now finds himself in an all-Bellator affair; having originally been set to take on Braga. In a rematch 5 years in the making, Pico will now take on Henry Corrales.
When the two first met back in 2019, Corrales handed Pico only the second loss of his career – stopping the prospect in just over a minute of the very first round. The pair were trading heavy in the clinch when Corrales unleashed a huge right hook on the exit, which immediately put Pico to sleep. Since their first contest, the two have remained active, to varying levels of success.
Pico has competed 10 times, and after suffering a defeat to Adam Borics immediately after the Corrales defeat, he managed to find some form and went on a six fight winning streak before an injury put a stop to his contest against Jeremy Kennedy at Bellator 286. Pico managed to make the walk twice in 2023 and picked up two wins against James Gonzalez and Pedro Carvalho.
Corrales went 1-3 in his next four, following his win over Pico but has managed to head his career back in the right direction picking up wins against Vladyslav Parubchenko, Aiden Lee and Akhmed Magomedov. His most recent walk to the cage came against Kai Kamaka III at Bellator 300 on October 7th 2023, where he lost out on a close split decision.
The PFL vs Bellator CHAMPS card now looks as follows:
Heavyweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Renan Ferreira (PFL World Champ) vs. Ryan Bader (Bellator Champ)
Middleweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Impa Kasanganay (PFL Light Heavyweight World Champ) vs. Johnny Eblen (Bellator Champ)
Featherweight Champion vs. Champion Bout: Gabriel Braga (PFL Title Contender) vs. Patricio Pitbull (Bellator Champ)
Catchweight Bout: Ray Cooper III(PFL World Champ) vs. Jason Jackson (Bellator Champ)
Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Bruno Cappelozza (former PFL World Champ) vs. Vadim Nemkov (former Bellator Champ)
Light Heavyweight Showcase Bout: Thiago Santos (PFL title contender) vs. Yoel Romero (Bellator title contender)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Clay Collard (PFL title contender) vs. AJ McKee (former Bellator Champ)
Early Card - ESPNEWS and ESPN+ (US) - 12 pm ET
Featherweight Showcase Bout: Henry Corrales (PFL title contender) vs. Aaron Pico (Bellator title contender)
Lightweight Showcase Bout: Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Emmanuel Palacio
Catchweight Showcase Bout: Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis
Featherweight Showcase Bout: Abdullah Al Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
Amateur Flyweight Bout: Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira
