Pat Curran defeats Patrício Pitbull and keeps Bellator belt

The Brazilian Patrick Pitbull came close to winning the Bellator featherweight belt. In the 85th edition of the event, held this Friday (18), in Irvine, California, the athlete from Rio Grande do Norte fought a tough battle against champion Pat Curran, but the North American ended up leaving the cage with the triumph in the judges' split decision.

With greater reach, Curran started the dispute with straight blows, making it difficult for the Brazilian to enter. With refined boxing, the North American controlled the distance and responded to Pitbull's attacks in the counterattack. In the third round, Patrício had his best moment in the dispute. With a high kick to his rival's head, the Tupiniquim athlete almost ended the dispute. However, he was unable to continue the series of attacks.

At the end of 25 minutes of competition, Pat Curran won the judges' split decision (48×47, 47×48, 48×47). With the triumph, the North American has 18 wins and just four defeats on his record.

Babalu loses on debut
As much as Patrick Pitbull, the other Brazilian on the Bellator 85 fight program also left the fight area with a setback. Debuting on the show, Renato Babalu faced Mikhail Zayats in the first phase of the light heavyweight GP. At the end of the first round, the Russian fighter landed a round punch on the Brazilian who fell to the ground. Without wasting time, Zayats launched a series of strikes on the ground until the referee declared a technical knockout.