Bellator 255: Pitbull vs Sanchez 2 main event betting tips

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (31-4-0) defeated Emmanuel Sanchez (20-4-0) by decision when these two men last fought for the Featherweight World Championship at Bellator 209 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Freire is hoping to produce the same result this Friday night in Connecticut when he defends his title against Sanchez in the main event of Bellator 255.

SEE ALSO: HOW TO BET ON BELLATOR MMA ONLINE

Freire is ranked as the top pound-for-pound fighter in Bellator and is respected as one of the top featherweights in the world across all MMA promotions. He has won each of his last six fights and is the reigning Bellator Featherweight World Champion and Lightweight World Champion since defeating Michael Chandler to become a two-division champion at Bellator 221 in 2019. The 33-year-old is a two-time featherweight champion that has successfully defended his title six times.

Recommended!

Live Betting Odds

Claim a 50% deposit bonus up to the value of USD $250

Visit Bovada

Sanchez has looked great since his loss to Freire at Bellator 209. He has won each of his last three fights since then and is 7-1 in his last eight fights overall. Three of his last five wins have come by way of submission, including his second-round win over Tywan Claxton via triangle choke to open the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix Tournament last September. Sanchez has a three-inch height advantage and a five-inch reach advantage over the champion.

Of course, those advantages didn’t amount to much the last time these two men fought as Freire proved to be the superior striker with more accuracy and power than his opponent. Sanchez has the advantage on the mat in many of his matches due to his wrestling and jiu-jitsu background, but Freire has the advantage in this department as well. Freire’s status as the clear favorite here has far more to do with his dominance than any weaknesses in Sanchez’s game.

The winner of this match will go on to face A.J. McKee, who won his Grand Prix semi-final matchup against Darrion Caldwell. The showdown between the undefeated McKee and the elite Freire felt inevitable at the start of this tournament, and we anticipate that Pitbull will punch his ticket into that final with a win in this one.