Patricky Freire to defend Bellator title against Usman Nurmagomedov in November

Patricky Freire is expected to defend his Bellator lightweight crown against Usman Nurmagomedov at a Bellator MMA event on Nov. 18.

MMA Fight Universe was first to report the bout. The Bellator event doesn’t have an official location or venue and has not been announced by the promotion. Freire vs. Nurmagomedov is expected to headline the card.

Freire captured lightweight gold when he defeated Peter Queally via second-round TKO at Bellator 270 on Nov. 5. He was scheduled to make his first title defense against Sidney Outlaw at Bellator 283 but was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury. “Pitbull” is a long-tenured Bellator athlete who has been with the organization since 2011. He has been victorious in eight of his last 10 professional outings.

Nurmagomedov, the cousin of ex-UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, is 15-0 thus far in his pro career. He is 4-0 in Bellator, including a first-round submission of Christopher Gonzalez in his last outing at Bellator 283. The 24-year-old American Kickboxing Academy product has finished 13 of his 15 triumphs inside the distance.