The PFL has announced Patricio Pitbull will now fight Gabriel Braga and Aaron Pico will rematch Henry Corrales this Saturday.
The PFL has made some key changes to the featherweight bouts scheduled for this Saturday’s pay-per-view event. The promotion announced Tuesday morning that Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull has a new opponent in 2023 finalist Gabriel Braga. Braga’s original opponent, Aaron Pico, will face Henry Corrales in a rematch of their bout in 2019.
𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Updated #PFLvsBellator Fight Card
•New Matchup: @PatricioPitbull will now face @Gabrielbragab in a Featherweight bout
•New Matchup: @AaronPicoUSA will now face Henry Corrales[ #PFLvsBellator | Saturday, Feb 24th | 3pm EST | 🎟 https://t.co/C7U3kwS1zr] pic.twitter.com/KqDSQiYUBv
— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 20, 2024
Freire had previously been scheduled to take on 2023 PFL featherweight tournament winner Jesus Pinedo but it was announced this past Saturday that Pinedo was forced out of the bout due to suffering an injury.
Freire enters the bout as one of the top talents to now be part of the PFL as part of their acquisition of Bellator as the Brazilian featherweight is highly regarded as one of the best talents of the past decade. “Pitbull” holds many records win the promotion including most victories and most victories in title fights and he has even went up and won the lightweight title to become a two-division champion. Freire will be looking to return to the win-column as 2023 saw him unsuccessfully attempt to win the bantamweight title and lose an extremely short notice bout.
Braga had a dominant run to the finals that saw him best Pinedo early in the tournament and go on to take on UFC veteran Marlon Moraes and PFL veteran Chris Wade. This past holiday season, Braga suffered the loss of his father and coach and this will be his first bout without him in the corner. Braga will now be moved to the main card after previously being scheduled to be on the prelims against Pico.
Corrales will now step into the bout on six days notice to take a bout that requires flying to the other side of the world. The bout will be a rematch of their fight that took place in 2019. Then super prospect Pico had rattled off four straight knockout victories and the bout with the more seasoned Corrales was expected to be a step up in competition. Instead, Corrales delivered one of the most electrifying victories of his career as he stopped Pico in the first round.
The event is scheduled to be the first of several planned pay-per-view events held by the PFL in Saudi Arabia as part of their new partnership. The PFL Champs vs. Bellator Champs event will air this Saturday in the United States on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
