Patricio Pitbull releases statement after brother Patricky's loss

The future of Bellator MMA is up in the air and because of that, many fighters, media, and staff are essentially saying their goodbyes following what could be the last-ever event, Bellator 301. On that card, a longtime staple of the Bellator roster, Patricky "Pitbull" Freire suffered a loss to Alexandr Shabliy, booting him out of the Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix.

After the loss, his brother, another longtime Bellator star, Patricio "Pitbull" Freire took to Instagram to praise him for the performance, a grueling five-round war.

"Pride is the only feeling I have right now," he wrote in English and Portuguese. "If we continue to face battles and challenges in life or in fighting, we will not always be victorious, we already know that, but there is a gigantic difference between those who lower their heads and accept being defeated and those who remain courageous and fearless until the end even if everything is not going as planned."

He continued, "Yesterday in the fight I saw you leave everything inside the octagon and once again you showed the quality of your blood, it was an honor to have had the opportunity to be by the side of a warrior of such magnitude. No one knows you better than I do and yesterday, when I gave you instructions at every break between the rounds, I had the chance to see the fire in your eyes and you proving on the battlefield what we are made of. At no time did I see you weaken in the face of adversity, congratulations for giving us a spectacle of such bravery."

This is the first loss for Patricky this year having won his last fight, a fight with Roberto de Souza at Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 in July. He is the former lightweight champion having earned his title defeating Peter Queally in November 2021. He lost it to Usman Nurmagomedov one year later.