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Jeremy Kennedy says title shot vs. Patricio Freire 'fight to make' after Bellator 291

DUBLIN – Jeremy Kennedy thinks he’s done more than enough to earn a title shot after Bellator 291.

Kennedy (19-3 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) swept the judges’ scorecards in a unanimous decision win over Pedro Carvalho this past Saturday at 3Arena in Dublin.

Entering the fight, Kennedy viewed Carvalho as a No. 1 contender bout and now eyes featherweight champion Patricio Freire.

“I believe so,” Kennedy told MMA Junkie and other reporters following Bellator 291. “I don’t know who else there is for me to fight. That’s three wins in a row, and I’m starting 2023 with wins over Sanchez, Pico, and Carvalho, all ranked in the top five when I beat them, and so I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. They’re all dominant victories. I think that’s the fight to make now.”

Kennedy thinks he’s been overlooked by Freire, which has rubbed him the wrong way. He even sees “Pitbull” dropping down to bantamweight to avoid fighting him.

“I’m coming. I’ve been on his heels the whole time,” Kennedy said. “When he was fighting Borics and I was fighting Pico, he was already talking about fighting Pico. That left a sour taste in my mouth and since that fight, I was like, ‘I can’t wait to earn my shot to fight him, to prove because he was overlooking me back then.'”

He continued, “Now there’s talks of him going down to ’35, and he’s probably calling his nutritionist right now trying to be like, ‘Yo, get me down to ’35 because I don’t want any of this.’ And I’m ready for that fight. That’s the fight to make, that’s the only fight that’s left. Nobody else in the top five – like I said, three wins in a row against all top-five guys, and there’s no one else for him.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 291.



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