Patricio Freire finally ran out of miracle comebacks.
The Bellator MMA featherweight title changed hands Friday, as Daniel Straus reclaimed the belt via unanimous decision in a five-round battle with Freire. The championship fight headlined Bellator 145 from inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Straus (24-6), who won the title in 2013 but suffered a loss in his first defense, dropped Freire (24-3) with a left hand in the second round. The Brazilian somehow recovered and even rallied late, but it wasn't enough. Judges scored the bout 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 for Straus.
It was the third meeting between the two. Freire had won both of the previous meetings. He outpointed Straus in a three-round decision in 2011 and scored a comeback submission win over him in a title defense back in January.
"This means a lot," Straus said. "There are a lot of people out here who deserve this belt more than me. I've got family here, coaches here, fans here who have supported me for a long time. I fought an extremely tough Patricio -- again -- and I'm sure he'll want some get back."
The fight was close until midway through the second round, when Straus landed the hard straight left. Freire's arms went limp and he crashed to the canvas, but he managed to catch Straus in an armbar attempt as the challenger swarmed for a finish. Straus broke the armbar by lifting Freire off the floor and slamming him, but the threat of it slowed things down just enough for Freire to recover from the knockdown and get back to his feet.
Freire, who now has been knocked down in three consecutive fights, looked uncertain for the remainder of that round and well into the third as he attempted to clear cobwebs. His reactions were slow, and Straus capitalized by teeing off again with the left hand. Freire was afforded a short break in the third round by referee John McCarthy, after he complained of an inadvertent eye-poke. He received another short recess in the fourth, after the two collided heads.
Later in the round, history nearly repeated itself, as Freire found his second wind, pressuring Straus with combinations. Straus shot in on a lazy double-leg takedown attempt, which Freire sprawled on and looked to turn into a guillotine. It was eerily similar to their fight in January, which Straus was winning up until the fourth round, when Freire submitted him via rear-naked choke.
In the final round, Straus was in full survival mode, allowing Freire to take his back in a scramble and nearly sink in a choke. Straus eventually moved to the fence and back to his feet, turning into Freire as he attempted to retake his back.
After the result was read, Straus joked he was only making it interesting.
"I said, 'Let's play with them a little,'" Straus said of giving Freire his back in the last round. "No, I'm just playing. I worked really hard on my [submission] defense. I broke my hand in the first round, and my striking wasn't getting there. I kept slipping on my takedowns. I knew when he had my back to stay calm. I'm here for a reason. I've been working hard after losing my last two title fights. I composed myself."
Freire suffers his first setback since a split-decision loss to Pat Curran in January 2013, a span of seven fights.
Brooks overcomes injury to outpoint Held
Will Brooks recorded his second lightweight title defense in a dominant decision win against Marcin Held. And he apparently did it on a bad knee.
Brooks (17-1) showed little respect for the grappling skills of Held, who went into the championship fight with 12 wins by submission. He repeatedly took Held to the ground and calmly escaped several submission attempts, including a deep kneebar in the first round. All three judges scored the bout in his favor: 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46.
Afterward, Brooks revealed why he relied so heavily on his ground game. He said he felt his knee pop early in the fight and struggled to plant off it the rest of the way.
"My coaches wanted me to stay on my feet, but every time I would bounce or hit a pivot step, my knee would buckle," Brooks said. "I said, 'All right, do you want to make it through this fight and fight another day or mess around and blow your leg out?' I did what I had to do. You've got to be smart and take care of your body."
Beyond Held's early kneebar attempt, it was pretty smooth sailing for the defending champion. Brooks, who fights out of American Top Team, popped Held with short punches and elbows from top position throughout. He opened a facial cut on the challenger late with an elbow from the guard.
In the third round, Brooks moved to full mount and nearly finished the fight via arm-triangle choke. He landed the better strikes whenever the fight was standing, although that was barely at all. Had the leg injury not occurred, Brooks might have had his way with Held late, as the Polish challenger was exhausted by the fifth round.
It was the sixth time Brooks went the distance in his past seven fights.
• Former lightweight champion Michael Chandler (14-3) dropped David Rickels (16-4) with a haymaker right hand in the second round and eventually finished him via TKO at the 3:05 mark. It is the second time Chandler, a Missouri native, has knocked out Rickels. He did it in 44 seconds when they fought in July 2013. After dropping three fights in a row between 2013 and 2014, Chandler bounced back with a 2-0 record in 2015.
• Heavyweight Bobby Lashley (14-2) knocked out James Thompson (20-15) with strikes on the ground at the 54-second mark of the first round. Lashley drove into Thompson in an early takedown attempt that appeared to injure Thompson's knee. Lashley took advantage, dropping right hands to the side of Thompson's head until referee Mike England stepped in. Lashley avenged a decision loss to Thompson in 2012 with the victory.
• Featherweight Emmanuel Sanchez (12-2), of Milwaukee, edged Justin Lawrence (8-3) in a back-and-forth split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29). The 25-year-old stepped in on short notice after Lawrence's original opponent, Pat Curran, dropped out of the fight due to a knee injury. Sanchez hurt Lawrence with a head kick late in the second round. He improved to 4-1 in Bellator, while Lawrence dropped to 1-1.
