Whenever a fighter steps up and challenges for a major title, it’s a special moment, and Pedro Carvalho will experience that thrill Friday night when he challenges Patricio Freire for the featherweight title at Bellator 241 in Uncasville, Conn. The Dublin-based Portuguese contender is something of an unlikely success story, having arrived in Bellator as a largely unheralded prospect before springing a shock in his debut, then earning a spot in the featherweight grand prix. One win and one “Champion’s Choice” later, Carvalho (11-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) finds himself in a title fight against two-division champion “Pitbull” in the first major main event booking of his career. Ahead of his fight, one of his teammates at Dublin’s SBG Ireland gym, Bellator middleweight Will Fleury , posted a message of support for his teammate and told the story of the unlikely contender’s arrival in the gym and how he proved his worth on the mats to a man who, in all honesty, didn’t think he’d go that far. This Friday night @pedrocarvalhomma fights for the Bellator featherweight title. The first day I met him a little over 3 years ago he showed up for some open kickboxing rounds, he didn’t give a (expletive) that I was bigger than him so we did 2 rounds before we got new partners.
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