Usman Nurmagomedov dominates Pitbull Freire for a decision win – Bellator 288 Highlights

Adam Miller

In the co-main event of Bellator 288, lightweight champion Patricky Freire faced up against the undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov for the first time.

Usman Nurmagomedov’s bid for Patricky Freire’s Lightweight championship in the co-main event of Bellator 288 didn’t exactly excite him. The champion believed that Nurmagomedov’s last name allowed him to sneak into a title shot.

But the Dagestani-born athlete did prove himself in the Bellator cage. He has won 15 consecutive and holds a record of 4-0 (all finishes, three in the first round) in Bellator.

As the first Dagestani to win a Bellator title, Nurmagomedov has the opportunity to create history. His Dagestani team also includes former UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and current UFC 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev.

During a recent media scrum, Nurmagomedov said,

“My name will be written in the history books forever. There was a time nobody would sign fighters from the Caucasus. Nobody knew where Dagestan is, where this part of Russia is located. Now we have two champions from Dagestan in the UFC – past, and present.”

Pitbull has been competing professionally for 16 years and is well-versed in MMA. He got his chance in 2021 when he defeated Peter Queally at Bellator 270 to claim the vacant title.

Khabib was noticeably absent from Nurmagomedov’s corner. He was cornered by Abubakar Nurmagomedov at the event.

Official Result: Patricky Freire gets defeated by Usman Nurmagomedov in a unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44 x 2).