Patricio Freire wants Bellator to sign some fresh blood to the featherweight division that can present an immediate threat to his title reign.

Freire (24-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) has essentially cleaned out the 145-pound class, so much so that his next bout at Bellator 145 on Nov. 6 will come against an opponent he’s already defeated twice before in Daniel Straus (23-6 MMA, 10-3 BMMA).

Bellator 145 takes place at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The main card airs on Spike TV following prelims on MMAjunkie.

If history repeats and “Pitbull” tops Straus again, there are contenders such as Goiti Yamauchi, Georgi Karakhanyan and Daniel Weichel hovering around a championship opportunity.

The problem there, however, is that Freire has already beaten Karakhanyan and Weichel in the past and hardly views the 22-year-old Yamauchi as a title-ready competitor.

At No. 4 in the NOS Energy Drink MMA featherweight rankings, Freire feels new talent must be signed to the organization to create fresh matchups in the division and help him reach the No. 1 spot.

“I don’t think either of them are deserving of a title shot,” Freire told MMAjunkie. “Weichel, I just knocked out. Yamauchi hasn’t beaten anyone. And Karakhanyan just lost before he came to Bellator. Bellator needs to get more fighters in the division because just beating these guys is not going to get the attention or give me the recognition I want to have. It doesn’t really matter. Whoever it is – if it’s Goiti, if it’s Karakhanyan, if it’s Weichel or anyone else, it will all be the same.”

Although Freire has urged Bellator to sign more notable contenders, he must not too far ahead of himself and look past Straus. The ex-Bellator champion dropped a unanimous decision to Freire in May 2011 but finally worked his way to a rematch in January. Straus had some strong moments in the matchup, but he eventually succumbed to a fourth-round submission.

Straus will attempt to pick up from his moments of success and turn it into victory in his third opportunity. He scored a knockdown of Freire during the second bout but was unable to capitalize.

Freire was also dropped via strikes in his most recent bout, a come-from-behind knockout of Weichel in June. He said he’s addressed the defensive issues that led to those knockdowns and brought in a new boxing coach for his latest training camp.

“Getting knocked down, getting knocked out, losing is part of the game; I have to be ready for that,” Freire said. “Of course my last two fights I was knocked down, but in both of them I was able to regroup and turn the tide of the fight. It’s great for me to know the capabilities I have. I have never been knocked out before and I know I have much more to offer and these moments are good for me.

“I’ve seen all the positive points, all the negatives, all the weaknesses and all the strengths. We’re working on every single aspect of the fight that could happen and should happen. We also have a new boxing coach on the team and two boxing coaches working with me on this camp.”

Freire’s run of success in recent years has been nothing short of impressive. He’s won 10 of his past 11 fights with stoppages in seven of those contests. His lone defeat in that stretch came by split decision, a loss he later avenged in a rematch with Pat Curran.

The 28-year-old plans to continue to make bold statements in the cage until more reputable featherweight competition is brought in. Freire wants to be pushed to his limit with matchups he’s yet to experience.

Although Straus is no pushover and could beat Freire with the right performance, the Brazilian said he’s not ready to give up the title. He applauded Straus for his improvements, but after beating him on points in the first fight and submitting him in the second, Freire said he’s looking to complete the trifecta with a knockout.

“Straus has improves a lot; his boxing is much better and his kicks bring a lot of violence,” Freire said. “He’s a bit crazy. We’re going to try attack all that and not let that side of him come out. Before the crazy side of him comes out I’m going to go in there and I’m going to finish him. … I’m going to knock him out.”

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