Twenty Five Days; Twenty Five Fights – Day 7 – 12/7/2010

Day 6 – 12/6/10
Day 5 – 12/5/10
Day 4 – 12/4/10
Day 3 – 12/3/10
Day 2 – 12/2/10
Day 1 – 12/1/10

 


 

19.  Joe Warren vs. Patricio Freire
When it happened – Bellator XXIII (June 24, 2010)

You know that often overused phrase on MMA internet forums, “I believe in Chael”?  Well, after seeing the encounter between Joe Warren and Patricio Pitbull at Bellator XXVIII I began to believe in Joe Warren.  You can’t name anyone in the MMA game tougher than Joe Warren, try it.

When Joe Warren first began referring to himself as “The baddest man on planet” during Bellator broadcasts, I referred to him as a one-dimensional wrestler who uses physical strength instead of defensive Jiu-Jitsu to get himself out of dangerous grappling situations.  I even went as far as to say that Patricio Freire would murder him when they meet in the finals.

At first, a smile dawned on my face as Freire looked to expose all of Joe Warren’s short comings in MMA during the first round.  Warren couldn’t take him down, Warren couldn’t slip past a punch, and eventually Warren was put on his back and almost subbed out.  The clock ended up saving Warren in the first round, but judging from that round, the fight was as good as done in my eyes.

Joe Warren, however, would not be denied in rounds two and three, proving his moniker as “baddest man on the planet” to be true.  Freire’s offense from the first round seemed to impact his cardio for the next ten minutes as Joe Warren managed to use superior conditioning to grind out a 29-28 Decision over Freire to come out of Bellator XXIII as the Featherweight Finalist.

Some might argue that the Decision was kind of wonky and that the first round could have easily been scored a 10-8 for Patricio Freire.  Either way, it was one hell of a fight that not only cemented Joe Warren’s legitimacy as a future Featherweight threat, but also put Patricio Freire’s name out there as well.

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