Beat 'em up, beat 'em up! Derek Anderson gunning to knockout Patricky Freire in Bellator 147 rematch

It's not often that you see a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter win in clear-cut fashion and then face off with the same opponent years later, but such is the case with Bellator 147 combatant Derek Anderson.

"Barbaric" recently inked an agreement to do the tango yet again with potent Brazilian Patricky Freire inside San Jose State University Event Center in San Jose, Calif., this Friday night (Dec. 4, 2015).

The duo previously met in Sept. 2013, with Anderson scoring a unanimous decision victory.

Over the last two years, Anderson and Freire have went their separate ways, stumbling at times, while tallying multiple "W's" en route to this pivotal rematch, which could ultimately usher one man into the Lightweight No. 1 contender spot.

Anderson recently spoke with MMAmania.com prior to his upcoming rematch against "Pitbull" about his slip-ups against Marcin Held and Brent Primus, whether his first win over Freire was a fluke, a possible move up to Welterweight and more.

Check it out:

What are your thoughts on some of the controversy surrounding the Xplode Fight Series (XFS) promotion in recent months?

DA: I don't really know. I didn't take a look, but I'm sure I know what they're saying pretty much. Guys comes out of there chumps. I was there when the organization was young and people weren't getting too much of those mismatches. Me, personally, I don't like when people do that. It just sucks. What are you doing? You're a pro fighter. I've had mismatches like that before and stuff like that, but I trained the whole camp and got ready for a real opponent and sold tickets and all that. My opponent would back out last minute and I wasn't going to not fight so, I was like whatever.

What does competing for a promotion like that outdoors, and for such a localized fanbase, do for your career? How exciting was that?

DA: It was cool. I liked it, man. That's where I started. That's all I really knew. I went to Gladiator Challenge and tried to fight there a couple of times, but it seemed like that was a little bit more shady than XFS. I wasn't going to train for fights and not get a fight so I stuck with XFS. It was cool. Back in the day, I'd get ready for a fight, go fight and people would want to go buy me a drink after.

Was there any points where you doubted the integrity of the XFS promotion on your rise until you get signed by Bellator?

DA: Not so much on my rise, but after I made it to Bellator. Like I said, I had a couple of mismatches, but the amateur card is great because everyone is trying to go at it. It seemed like some of the pros would have a couple of mismatches. I know that there are some good pros in there for sure like I think that word goes out -- you know, there's good fights and bad fights like any other promotion.

Moving onto your Bellator days, you suffered your first loss in April 2014 via submission to well-known grappler Marcin Held. Did some of the pressure and emotion of having to perform and win every night leave you going forward?

DA: I feel like after my last loss, it affected me more on that. Marcin Held was more of a worthy opponent I felt like. I shouldn't have let Brent Primus beat me. I can't believe I let that guy beat me. That ruined my esteem and plus it was two losses now and not just one. Now were not looking like a fluke so much; it's looking like I can be beaten. That was the one that made me feel that way more if anything.

When some fighters suffer their first defeat, they might start rethinking things, or look to change something in their style. Did you go through that at any point?

DA: One thing about it is, there wasn't really any problem with my striking or anything offensively. The only problem is when Brent Primus attacked me on the ground, I should've defended that and got back to my feet. With Brent Primus, specifically, I defended on the ground and ended up on top ground-and-pounding him, and then I'd let him up and bang with him. I think that wasn't the right idea.

I think I should've kept it on the ground. I think I could've owned him on the ground. I felt everything he had. I defended all of his submissions and I bet I could've tapped him out, if not knockout him out with the ground and pound. I just got to be a bit more confident in my striking. I'm trying to box with everybody when it's an MMA fight so I got other stuff to bring to the table, too. I'm a good submission artist, [I'll] start using them again.

That's such a difficult choice, whether you slide into an opponent's guard or stand back up ...

DA: Well, for Marcin Held, that's one [fight] where I shouldn't have stayed on the ground. At that point, I was confident in my ground and pound and I was like, "You know what? I'll do this a little bit more." Then, he tapped me out. At that time, my coaches were screaming, "get up, get up." I guess I just need to listen to my coaches a little bit.

Have you made jiu-jitsu more of a focal point in training camp prior to your rematch with Patricky? He had some success against you in round one on the mat, nearly locking up a triangle choke, before you started to settle down a bit later in round two.

DA: I always work on my jiu-jitsu. Like I said, I got the jiu-jitsu, I just don't use it in the fight. In the fight, I think about hitting them all the time and that's what I usually do.

Fighters have sometimes obtained the clinch and seemingly took you out of your element early in the fight. What are you going to change, if anything, about the way you start your fights against Patricky in this rematch?

DA: I'm going to go in there a bit more conscious this time. I'll be working the whole training camp with strict techniques and when it comes to fight night, I'm like, 'beat 'em up, beat 'em up, beat 'em up.' I'll go in there off of pure instinct and it won't look like what I've been doing in the gym. I'll go in there a little more conscious and not just be on instinct so much and just do what I've been working on.

Some might say your initial win over Patricky was a fluke, that you got him at the right time. He was 1-3 in his last four. What's your answer to the naysayers?

DA: I'll show them what's up on Dec. 4.

How impressed have you been with him lately? Did you watch his last fight against Saad Awad?

DA: I saw a little bit of it. I fought that night, too, so it was on the TV. I was out talking to my friends and family and stuff. I know he's got power and stuff. I think he's a little too small for me. I'm a pretty big guy for this weight class and I know how to use my reach better than I used to. I mean, regardless of his impressiveness or not, I think I'm more impressive.

Against Brent, you had the reach advantage against the smaller fighter and the fight didn't go your way. Will you look to get Patricky finished early, as opposed to letting him put you in the clinch like last time?

DA: Well see, that was kind of the problem with Brent. I was just confident in being the better fighter and that being enough for me to win. Because I just like to fight, I figured, 'oh shit, I'll just fight him and I'm going to win.' But, I didn't try to go get the win. I never really try to go knock somebody out, it just happens usually. This is going to be different -- I'm going to try and knock Patricky out.

How many more fights do you think you will need to have before you're knocking on the door and in the title conversation?

DA: I don't know, man. That's why it's cool I get to fight "Pitbull," even though he lost last time. He's a little higher than me in Bellator's rankings I'm sure right now. I'd like to get a title shot if that's possible, as soon as possible. I might move up a weight class, too, so I'm just figuring things out.

So you're leaving the door open for a move up to welterweight? Does that all hinge upon how this next fight goes?

DA: No, just maybe on how the weight cut goes if anything. I know I can keep making lightweight and make it healthily and actually be able to perform on fight night. I don't like to do it and one of my problems is I'm just not as disciplined when I'm not in camp and so I just put on a lot of weight that I don't need to. I could walk around more healthy and the weight cut wouldn't be a problem. Putting it back on wouldn't be a problem. I let my body go to shit after every fight.

Not after every fight so bad. I kind of have an eating disorder like every other fighter. Not that I throw up or starve myself, just the fact that I binge eat after a fight. Last one I lost, I was depressed or whatever. I just started eating. I got to stop doing that.

What are you perhaps doing differently for this weight cut? Do you work with a teammate, manager, or nutritionist on your cut to 155?

DA: I collaborate with a couple of people. The last fight -- I actually made the weight better than ever, but I didn't put it back on wisely. I just ate too much and I was all constipated. I just felt like crap. I knew I was going into the cage at 70 percent, but I still though I could win. This time I'm going to cut it right, like I did last time and put it back right, too. I'll be drinking a lot, but I'll be eating regular.

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