Saad Awad (photo via Bellator)

By Kelsey Mowatt

Saad Awad will face Patricky “Pitbull” Freire on August 28th, and while the latter has struggled at times during his Bellator run, the “Assassin’s” acutely aware of the dangers he presents.

Since Freire arrived in Bellator back in 2011, the 29 year-old fighter has recorded several highlight reel finishes. Freire has also been defeated by the likes of Michael Chandler, Eddie Alvarez and Marcin Held, however, and overall, he’s gone 6-5 with the Viacom owned promotion.

Recently Awad appeared on Full Contact Fighter Radio, and while discussing the highs and lows that Freire has endured, the Millennia MMA fighter stated:

“He’s had some ups and downs in his career, but he always bounces back,” Awad noted about Freire, who had won three straight before he was decisioned by Held last September. “He’ll lose one, or lose two, and then he’ll come back and beat, I’m not going to say a top five guy, because we don’t have a ranking system, but guys you would think are top five with Bellator. So, you know, he’s in and out of the loop.”

“So, you never know which one you’re going to see of him, but I think he’s pretty well rounded,” Awad furthered about “Pitbull”, who is the brother of Bellator’s featherweight champ, Patricio Freire (13-6).  “I believe he’s a black belt (in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). He looks like he’s a strong fighter and has pretty good striking. We all know he has knockout power, and he’s tricky. He throws flying knees sometimes, and he’s a pretty good counter puncher…”

It will be interesting to see how the bout plays out. Awad has showcased knockout power during his time with Bellator, but in addition, the 32 year-old has demonstrated that his ground game can be an effective and dangerous tool.

“I feel like I started kind of slow in my last fight. I thought a little bit too much in my last fight,” said Awad (18-6), while referring to his decision win over Rob Sinclair in April. “So this one I kind of want to change things around. So I want to go out there and showcase what I showcased when I first came to Bellator.”

“I know that’s what people want to see and nobody cares for a boring fight,” added Awad, who quikckly took out Will Brooks and Guillaume DeLorenzi with punches in his first two, Bellator outings. “Win or lose they want to see an exciting fight. So I do want to go out there and be more active and I’ll probably stay on my feet as long as I can, unless we end up on the mat and rolling around…”

Bellator 141 will be hosted by the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California, on August 28th. The main card will be broadcast on Spike.