This story has been updated
Last Friday (March 22) was a big fight night in Northern Ireland for Surrey-raised Jeremy Kennedy, who ended up losing to a “GOAT” in MMA.
At a Bellator Champions Series event in Belfast, Kennedy battled champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire for the featherweight belt — Kennedy’s first-ever shot at a world title, 15 years after his first amateur MMA fight took place during a charity event at Relate Church on 152 Street, not far from his Fleetwood stomping grounds.
Kennedy, 31, fell in the third round to the 36-year-old Freire. He was fighting to dethrone Brazil’s “Pitbull,” regarded as the most successful Bellator fighter in history, boasting the most fights (29), wins (23) and finishes (13) in the organization.
Kennedy boasts an impressive MMA track record in Bellator, PFL and UFC, with victories in all promotions. Before Friday, he had come out on top of four of his last five fights and sounded eager to seize the greatest opportunity of his career in Belfast.
WILL JEREMY KENNEDY 𝘿𝙀𝙏𝙃𝙍𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂? 👀
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) March 18, 2024
Flashback to @JeremyKennedyWC’s second round TKO win over Luis Rafael Laurentino during his time at the PFL Playoffs in 2019! 🔥
Jeremy Kennedy takes on Patricio Pitbull in the co-main event at #BellatorBelfast!… pic.twitter.com/tYzo7IOOq8
Friday’s event at SSE Arena streamed on bellator.com/watch/bellator, in partnership with Professional Fighters League.
Kennedy first set his sights on a title fight in Bellator four years ago, in 2020, when he was 28 and freshly signed to the California-based MMA organization.
“Hard work has gotten me to where I am right now,” Kennedy told MMA reporters last week.
“I’ve been taking nothing but tough fights. I fought Adam Borics, who was number one at the time and I was ranked eighth, then I fought Emmanuel Sanchez, who was fourth when I was eight or nine, then Aaron Pico when I was seventh and he was fourth, and Pedro Carvalho was ranked number three. I’ve been fighting nothing but top-five guys. I get the job done every time I go out there and now here I am.”
Prior to their fight, Kennedy called “Pitbull” the GOAT — the greatest of all-time. “He holds all of the records and he’s known as the best Bellator fighter of all time for a reason, but he’s getting older and I think his best days are behind him.”