Patricky Freire TKOs Queally to claim vacant Bellator lightweight title

Following in the footsteps of his brother, Patricky "Pitbull" Freire is a Bellator champion.

Freire defeated Peter Queally via TKO at the 1:05 mark in the second round of the Bellator 270 main event to capture the vacant lightweight belt in Dublin, Ireland.

The Brazilian dropped Queally with a right hand, and Queally fell to the canvas twice more before returning to his feet. However, Freire teed off on him with a barrage of strikes up against the fence, forcing the referee to wave off the fight.

Bellator booked the vacant title bout between Freire and Queally after the new champion's younger brother, Patricio, relinquished the belt in October. Patricio, who also held the featherweight title before losing it to AJ McKee in July, wanted to focus on regaining the 145-pound strap, and he wanted to give Patricky an opportunity to win Bellator gold himself.

This was a rematch of a May fight in which Queally won a doctor's stoppage after the second round due to a cut on Freire's head.

Freire, who's competed primarily in Bellator since 2011, snapped a two-fight skid with the victory. This was his first triumph since December 2019, and he improved to 24-10 as a professional.

Queally, a native of Ireland who headlined his first Bellator event in front of a raucous Dublin crowd, saw his two-fight winning streak end. He fell to 13-6-1.