Patricio Pitbull choked Emmanuel Sanchez unconscious to set-up a $1 million Bellator mega-match final

• Patricio "Pitbull" Freire just scored a nasty, first-round submission win over Emmanuel Sanchez.
• Victory, Friday at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, sees Freire progress to a tournament final.
• Later this year, he'll fight A.J. McKee in a bout worth a $1 million to the winner.

Patricio "Pitbull" Freire choked Emmanuel Sanchez unconscious Friday at Bellator 255 to set up a $1 million featherweight tournament final against the high-flying American fighter A.J. McKee.

Freire had fought Sanchez once before and, though he won a five-round decision in a Tel-Aviv bout in 2018, he was hospitalized for two days after the brutal bout.

The Brazilian mixed martial artist is considered the greatest fighter in Bellator history but victory at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, was no foregone conclusion.

But in their 145-pound rematch, Freire beat Sanchez easily as he separated Sanchez from his senses with a first-round guillotine choke.

It was a fast and furious finish for Freire, who scored his fifth successive defense of the Bellator featherweight championship.

The victory tees up a $1 million mega-match

Freire's fight with Sanchez was the semi-final in Bellator's ongoing featherweight tournament.

Previous results saw the unbeaten McKee advance to the final, which is worth $1 million to the winner.

The high-stakes fight is arguably one of the most important that can be made in all MMA.

It pits Freire, the consensus No.1 fighter in Bellator MMA history, against McKee - a fighter Bellator has developed for years who could be the next big thing in the sport.

"Patricio Pitbull has been the man," said McKee in a statement sent to Insider.

"Nothing against him. He's got great accolades. I already said I'm going to be the champ-champ. For me, it's the new era. He said my time is over. My time has just begun.

"It's a fight the fans have wanted for the longest," added McKee.

"But at the end of the day, nobody has a win over me. Nobody has a belt with my name on it, and nobody is going to get a belt with my name on it."

-Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) April 3, 2021

Freire said: "I am ready to fight AJ McKee right now, please just tell [premium US broadcaster] Showtime, I will get in the cage and we can take care of this tomorrow.

"I want to be the first man to defeat McKee, he has been opening his mouth about me for a very long time. This will be the biggest fight in Bellator history."

Earlier in the event, Usman Nurmagomedov earned a unanimous decision win over Mike Hamel with his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner.

Usman is a new addition to the Bellator roster and boss Scott Coker told Insider this week that the Russian's potential in the sport could be huge.

Elsewhere, Magomed Magomedov submitted Cee Jay Hamilton with a second-round rear-naked choke in the final bout on the prelims.