A highly-anticipated rematch sits on top of this weekend’s Bellator 277 card in San Jose.
Friday’s Bellator card ends its main card slate with two title fights. The rematch between current Featherweight Champion AJ McKee (-340 as of midweek at FanDuel) and former champion Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire (+260) holds the top spot.
A light heavyweight title showdown between Champion Vadim Nemkov (-170, pictured) and UFC veteran Corey Anderson (+138) fills the co-main slot.
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McKee vs Pitbull 2 at Bellator 277
The undefeated McKee (18-0 MMA, 18-0 Bellator) will run it back with Freire (32-5 MMA, 20-5 Bellator) to cap off Friday night’s event. The two featherweights last fought in July. McKee finished Freire with a guillotine in under two minutes of the first round.
McKee, the son of former MMA fighter Anotnio McKee, is looking to repeat last fight’s outcome. The 27-year-old’s draft stock shot up exponentially after not only defeating the former champion, but finishing him in quick fashion as well.
McKee started his professional MMA career at Bellator and hasn’t yet tasted defeat at 18-0. His resume includes wins over former featherweight champion Pat Curran, Derek Campos and former bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell.
The current featherweight champ is dangerous on the feet and on the ground. He has finished 12 of his 18 fights, five by knockout and seven by submission. He will look to do the same again this week, pushing the pace and trying to keep Freire on his heels.
But, Freire has his own plans of getting the featherweight belt back around his waist on Friday night.
How to watch and bet Bellator 277:
- 6 p.m. prelims on YouTube
- 9 p.m. main card on Showtime
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Freire is also the former Bellator Lightweight Champion. He is also the second-ever simultaneous, two-weight champion in Bellator history. Freire’s older brother, Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire is the current lightweight champion after Patricio vacated the belt to focus on the rematch with McKee.
Freire has lost the featherweight belt before after first winning it in 2014. He was defeated by Daniel Straus back in 2015 and won it back in a rematch in 2017.
A veteran of the promotion, joining in 2010, Freire has fought everybody in two weight divisions. He has wins over Pat Curran, Wilson Reis, Emmanuel Sanchez, Michael Chandler and Juan Archuleta.
Along with the most wins in Bellator history, Freire holds the records for most title fights and title wins, most fights and most finishes.
MMA fans and bettors alike can expect anything to happen in this matchup. Both guys are strong finishers and as we saw last time, the fight was over in two minutes.
If Freire wins, Bellator will probably look to make it a trilogy with McKee right away. If McKee wins, he has mentioned that he would like to go up in weight and fight Patricky for the lightweight belt.
Either way, it looks as if the next chapter of McKee vs the Pitbulls will be an exciting one.
AJ McKee | Patricio Freire |
|
|---|---|---|
27 | Age | 34 |
5'10'' | Height | 5'6'' |
145 lbs | Weight | 145 lbs |
73.5 inches | Reach | 65.5 inches |
Patricio Freire: W (Sub) | Last 5 | AJ McKee: L (Sub) |
Darrion Caldwell: W (Sub) | Emmanuel Sanchez: W (Sub) | |
Derek Campos: W (Sub) | Pedro Carvalho: W (KO) | |
Georgi Karakhanyan: W (KO) | Juan Archuleta: W (Dec.) | |
Pat Curran: W (Dec.) | Michael Chandler: W (TKO) |
Bellator 277 also features Nemkov vs. Anderson
Before we see McKee fight any pitbull, Bellator viewers will be treated to the first title fight of the evening.
Vadim Nemkov (15-2 MMA, 7-0 Bellator) will line up across the cage from Corey Anderson (16-5 MMA, 3-0 Bellator for the light heavyweight title.
Current champion Nemkov has had an impressive run since joining Bellator in 2017. The 29-year-old Russian fighter finished former double-champ Ryan Bader to win the light-heavyweight strap and won two tough decisions against Phil Davis.
Nemkov had a short and unsuccessful 2-2 stint in Rizin before joining Bellator. His only losses in his career come from current UFC light heavyweight contender Jiri Prochaska and Karl Albrektsson. Albrektsson joined Bellator last year and has a win over Nemkov’s older brother Viktor.
Since then, he has put together an undefeated run with Bellator, winning the belt and defending it twice now in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix tournament.
UFC veteran Corey Anderson will try to put a stop to Nemkov’s streak on Friday night.
Anderson has put together his own winning streak since joining Bellator in 2020. He has fought three times, finishing his three opponents by knockout or TKO. One of those finishes was a shocking TKO over Bader in 51 seconds.
He also has wins over current and former UFC champions Glover Teixiera and Jan Blachowicz as well as Johnny Walker, Ilir Latifi and Patrick Cummins.
Nemkov and Anderson are not only fighting for the belt, but also for Bellator’s $1 million tournament prize.
So we will see who comes away $1 million and one belt richer on Friday night.
Vadim Nemkov | Corey Anderson |
|
|---|---|---|
29 | Age | 32 |
6'0'' | Height | 6'3'' |
205 lbs | Weight | 205 lbs |
76 inches | Reach | 79 inches |
Julius Anglickas: W (Sub) | Last 5 | Ryan Bader: W (TKO) |
Phil Davis: W (Dec.) | Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov: W (TKO) | |
Ryan Bader: W (TKO) | Melvin Manhoef: W (TKO) | |
Rafael Carvalho: W (Sub) | Jan Blachowicz: L (KO) | |
Phil Davis: W (Dec.) | Johnny Walker: W (TKO) |
Full Bellator 277 betting odds from FanDuel
Main Card
- Featherweight: AJ McKee vs. Patricio Freire
- Light Heavyweight: Vadim Nemkov vs Corey Anderson
- Featherweight: Aaron Pico (-1000 at PointsBet) vs. Adli Edwards (+590)
- Heavyweight: Timothy Johnson (+114) vs. Linton Vassell (-138)
Prelims
- Heavyweight: Tyrell Fortune (-950) vs. Rakim Cleveland (+600)
- Light Heavyweight: Rafael Carvalho vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (N/A)
- Catchweight: Gaston Bolanos vs. Daniel Carey (N/A)
- Welterweight: Kyle Crutchmer (-250) vs. Michael Lombardo (+200)
- Bantamweight: Bobby Seronio III (-800) vs. Calob Ramirez (+530)
- Welterweight: Rhalan Gracie (+350) vs. Tyson Miller (-480)
- Flyweight: Edwin De Los Santos (-330) vs. Alberto Mendez (+250)
- Featherweight: Socrates Herandez (+174) vs. Rogelio Luna (-215)
- Featherweight: Laird Anderson (-460) vs. JT Donaldson (+330)
- Light Heavyweight: Theo Haig (-800) vs. Alan Benson (+530)
Looking ahead: Bellator 278 takes place Friday, April 22 in Honolulu featuring undefeated Juliana Velasquez and Liz Carmouche for the women’s flyweight world title.
