Bellator Rome: Fight league looks to Coliseum event in 2019; featherweight champion Patricio Friere reveals Wanderlei Silva hatred of gym bullying at Chute Box

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio 'Pitbull' Friere defends his crown here at Foro Italico on Saturday night in a rematch against Daniel Weichel with a bucket full of opinions and a revelation about the support he once had from Wanderlei Silva that he has never forgotten, but the 31-year-old veteran from Brazil joined several other fighters on this card in acknowledging the sense of occasion as the mixed martial arts fight league makes its inaugural tome here in this once glorious, ancient and historic city.   

Indeed, Bellator, ever growing and increasingly ambitious under CEO Scott Coker, are already ambitious to bring another event here next year - remarkably, inside the ancient Coliseum itself. Roman insiders hinted that it will be some feat to pull that off, once prominent city officials start weighing in, but right now who can doubt what the fight league might achieve next ?

It would certainly be some coup, but the ambition burns brightly to bring major new signings and create promotional firsts. Three weeks ago, the Viacom-owned fight league announced a multiple-year, 9-figure US dollar deal with sports streaming service DAZN, a welterweight tournament - the names will be announced in New York next Tuesday - and The Telegraph understands that of its eight participants, there will be a strong twist in the narrative for two of the places.

Bellator will also re-enforce its September 29 event in San Jose (the DAZN streaming debut with Bellator) that will include the superfight between middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi and welterweight king Rory MacDonald, and will herald the start of the welterweight Grand Prix. 

Coker, in Rome, told The Telegraph: "We really do want to do an event in the Coliseum. It's special. It feels special. Our fighters know that. I was with Fedor (Emilianenko) and he had been to the Coliseum and said he felt he would have been fighting in there if he had been around 2000 years ago. Then he started telling me about the history, how the contracts would have worked... it has that kind of effect on our mixed martial arts warriors of today."

On seeking to create an event at the historic Coliseum next year, Coker added:  "We could foresee an event for say 400 or 500 people inside there, make it a high end charity affair, give something back to the city, and then maybe have a large screen and a few thousand watching the screen outside. But we are going to try to make it happen."     

On next week's news conference, Coker was tight-lipped, but added that there would be "one or two special twists" in the welterweight Grand Prix. That came on the day Bellator also revealed Northern Ireland's Norman Parke, the former TUF Smashes winner and former BAMMA lightweight title challenger, will join the fight league. Parke, we are told, is just the first of multiple UK and Irish fighters who will be signed for a series of around six events to take place in the UK in the next year.

As for the event in Rome, the card is replete with interest. The popular Alessio Sakara face Britain's Jamie Sloane, and welterweight Andrey Koreshkov, expected to be one of the seeds in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix, faces Montenegrin Vaso Bakocevic.

On the Bellator Kickboxing section, Kevin Ross defends the featherweight title against Gabriel Varga, with the sense of theatre to take place when the ring is dismantled and the cage is lowered down to start the MMA section of the night. In the open air evening in Rome, to the strains of Richard Strauss's 'Also spruce Zarathustra', it is set to be a memorable sight and scene.

Wanderlei Silva supported me and I will never forget - Patricio Pitbull Friere   

In a exclusive interview with The Telegraph, headliner 'Pitbull' Friere also revealed his delight that the quartology fight between legends Wanderlei Silva and Rampage Jackson will go ahead on the Sept 29 blockbuster San Jose card.

“I think it’s wonderful. I know there’s a lot of criticism about these guys fighting, but they’re fighters," the Bellator featherweight champion told The Telegraph. "They’re fighting at the same stage of their careers so I don’t think there’s an issue there. I’m honoured to see Wanderlei back in the cage and Rampage back. It takes us back to the great times of Pride."

"I know Bellator will put Wanderlei in fights that makes sense. It’s like they’ve created a monster and it’s great for the company. I’m very happy to see that.”

Freire, now 31, then revealed a poignant and lucid story of being around Silva many years ago at the brutal Chute Box Academy. “I have an old memory of Wanderlei of when I was two or three months at Chute Box. I don’t even know if he remembers. The training at Chute Box was very tiring. They had me fighting several different guys until I was very tired. And then they would start putting fresh guys one after another.”

“They wanted to f--- me up. There were like 40 guys around the mat cheering for whoever came in against me. I know Wanderlei was there and he didn’t like what was going on and he didn’t agree with it. He started cheering for me. Out of forty guys he was the only guy who was cheering me and was against what they were trying to do.”

“I’ll never forget that.”

Incidentally, nor does Pitbull blame the manner or method at Chute Box. “It dates back to how MMA was at the time. Training was intense, training like that would help guys come out of their shell. Ultimately I didn’t spend much time at Chute Box after that but it was an experience that added to me character.”

It’s not lost on Friere, either, that Rome has a gladiatorial past, a 2000 year old tradition of adherence to a fighting cause and a nobility about being a fighter. It means so much to him, and he believes it will draw out his greatest performance. 

“It’s in my mind, these ancient warriors. I know how Bellator see this show in Rome. To me it’s something that will never leave my mind again.”

“I think a lot of fighters would have been. But I like to be free. Rome has a special meaning to me and I’m going to be very honoured to be fighting there.”

The Brazilian from Natal, (26 wins 4 defeats), beat Weichel three years ago, though the German has won four straight since then. 

But Pitbull is gnashing his teeth about the rematch. “I think rematches need to have a reason to happen. Bellator think this fight needed to happen, but his last two fights I think he lost. So why not bring out some fresh challenger until he deserves a rematch? He’s a tough fighter, I’m not taking anything away from him, but I don’t think he deserved this fight.”

“I’m having way too many rematches. I’m starting to think no one can be champion except me because I’ve had to fight Daniel Straus four times. There was no reason for me to fight him a third time. I lost the fight and I had to earn the rematch and I really earned it.”

“I’m going to fight Daniel Weichel again? I need fresh new talent. Should I fight Georgi Karakhanyan if he returns to Bellator? He hasn’t done anything to earn that. I hereby declare as long as I’m the Bellator champion, there will be no more rematches. You will always see me fighting a fresh new fighter. "

He added: "And if I happen to lose my belt at some point, Bellator have the extra obligation of giving me a rematch because I gave everyone rematches they didn’t deserve. If I lose to Weichel they’ll have to give me a rematch, but I won’t fight anymore rematches as champion.”

Is there a sense, then that he is not taking Weichel seriously? No, of course I am. I’m just stating some facts. Another fact is I’m going to fight a very tough fight and going to fight one of the toughest guys in the division. He’s a tough fighter.”

“He’s got a good coach too. He caught me clean with a punch, but I was right to capitalise in the other rounds. I’m not taking him lightly. I’ve watched his last two fights, I know what he brings to the table. I mapped all his game, I’ve studied him and I know what to do to put an end to this rivalry once and for all.” 

It's going to be some night in the open air in Rome with history coursing through the event. Fight time once again in the Eternal City.