“Pitbull” is headed to a new cage.
After more than a decade of carving out his legacy as one of the greatest to ever compete outside of the UFC, former Bellator double champion Patricio Freire is now a UFC fighter.
Speaking to MMA Junkie for the first time since Dana White announced the news Wednesday, Freire (36-7 MMA, 0-0 UFC) said the period of time between his PFL departure and UFC onboarding presented much more uncertainty than anticipated.
“To be very honest with you, we thought that the moment we got my release, the UFC would sign me,” Freire said Thursday through an interpreter. “Everyone, the fans, the media were telling it. It was pretty obvious. Everything was expecting to see an announcement that same day. But that’s not what happened. We had some barriers to overcome. There was a particular person from the UFC brass who wasn’t very happy with signing me. He was against it because of my age. In the end, he ended up being convinced. I was born the exact same day as Alex ‘Poatan,’ and he is champion, the biggest name right now. That was one of the arguments.”
UFC brass was split on adding Freire to the roster. Ultimately, everyone on the promotion’s side warmed up to the idea as Freire said he repeatedly accepted matchups that opposing UFC contenders rejected.
“One of the things I believe favored me in all this was that a couple weeks after our first meeting, they asked if I would fight a certain fighter and that fighter, a ranked fighter said no,” Freire said. “Then they offered me a few other options, and I said yes to all of them, and they said no. As the UFC saw that this old guy was saying yes to all those young guys and the young guys were running away, they were like, ‘We have a guy that’s for real here. So let’s sign him.’ I think that helped change the mindset of the person that was against me signing with the UFC. It all came to happen now. But we had some struggles along the way. We had some doubts. But in the end, it all came through.”
A message to UFC featherweights: ‘Don’t run’
Eventually, a willing taker emerged. Yair Rodriguez (16-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) accepted a fight vs. Freire, which will take place April 12 at UFC 314 in Miami. As for the rest of the fighters atop the division, Freire looks down on the attitude put forth during the matchmaking process.
“They’re a bunch of p*ssies,” Freire said. “That’s what they are. A fighter has to fight. That’s why I’m here. … When I was outside of the organization, many of you were talking sh*t. Now that I’m in, many of you are running. So what I have to say is don’t run. If you run, I’m going to be the Boogeyman, and I’m going to get you at your home.”
Freire is 37. The unnamed member of the UFC brass wasn’t the only one who has voiced concerns about his age and longevity in the sport. Freire has seen the comments from fans on every post, but said science is actually on his side.
“We have all the data of everything: power, strength and conditioning, cardio and all that,” Freire said. “We keep all the scores from all the fighters in our gym. Up until today, I’m still breaking all of my records. In all of those things, I’m improving. I had neck surgery in 2023. After I had that surgery, it got in the way of some of my fights. I wasn’t performing properly. After I got that surgery, I was able to regain my strength. I got back that gorilla grip that I used to have. My power and strength came back to me. I feel really rejuvenated. Of course there are some differences for being at my age and being a young guy. Some young guys are more explosive and all that. But there also comes the experience.
“I know now I’m better technically. I don’t telegraph my punches. I do not telegraph my attacks. I used my energy only in the exact moments that I need it so I don’t waste any energy. We had a test here for how long can we keep ourselves in our combat zone. That means having your heart beats over 174 bpm. I can do that for 30 minutes. Everything on me has been improving, literally. I don’t have any worries about my age being a factor, especially now after the surgery and everything. I feel that I’m much better than before.”
Time to build UFC legacy
Legacy has been Freire’s main focus after what has been described by him to have been a lucrative career as the face of Bellator. That’s why he made the jump to the UFC. But now that he’s in the organization, he’s not focused on what the rearview mirror will look like 10 years from now. His attention is straight ahead – pointed at UFC gold.
“I’m not focused on that right now,” Freire said. “I’m focused on my next fight. All that comes later. I’m focusing on this fight, winning that debut. I’m going to challenge for the UFC title. I’m going to win the UFC title. I know that’s what’s going to happen. I know that’s all that’s important for me right now. That’s what I’m focusing on. I know there are tough fighters in this division, I know it’s a tough division. I know people think that I have to prove myself but at the end of the day they’re going to see that everything I’ve been talking about has been correct.”
