Athletes
Patricio Pitbull’s Golden Journey To The UFC
Former Two-Division Champion Patricio Pitbull Is The Greatest Fighter To Compete For The Now-Defunct Bellator MMA Organization. Now He’s Ready To Prove His Greatness In The UFC.
When dominant champions from other organizations join the UFC, there’s always a degree of excitement and anticipation as fans look to see if the athlete can carry their form onto the sport’s biggest stage.
With Patricio Freire, known to the MMA world as Patricio Pitbull, that anticipation is through the roof.
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At 37 years of age, and with 43 career fights to his name, Pitbull is anything but a rookie as he prepares to make his UFC debut. Instead, he’s a bonafide world champion who has proved himself against world-class opposition for the past decade.
Put simply, Pitbull is the greatest fighter to have competed under the banner of Bellator MMA – the longtime promotion that ceased operations early this year. His list of records for the promotion is impressive, to say the least.
UFC 314 INTERVIEWS: Alexander Volkanovski | Diego Lopes | Yair Rodriguez | Patricio Pitbull | Michael Chandler | Paddy Pimblett
Pitbull is a four-time Bellator world champion, having captured the featherweight crown three times and the lightweight title once. He’s registered nine successful title defenses, and holds the now-unbreakable records for the most fights, most wins, most title fights, and most finishes in the promotion’s history, plus a host of featherweight-specific records.
From Tournament Winner To World Champion
After compiling a perfect 12-0 record on the regional scene in Brazil, Pitbull joined Bellator in 2010 and entered their featherweight tournament, where he won his way through to the final, only to lose out by split decision.
Patricio Pitbull Sits Down With Megan Olivi | UFC 314
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Patricio Pitbull Sits Down With Megan Olivi | UFC 314
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Pitbull returned for another tilt at tournament glory the following year, and the second time was the charm, as he defeated Georgi Karakhanyan, Wilson Reis and Daniel Straus to capture the tournament crown.
It earned him a shot at the Bellator featherweight title, but once again, a split-decision verdict against Pat Curran left him frustrated as he missed out again.
UFC 314 COUNTDOWN: Volkanovski vs Lopes | Chandler vs Pimblett | Full Episode
The Brazilian claimed tournament victory once again in 2013, and this time turned that momentum into title success as he defeated Curran in their featherweight title rematch to capture the Bellator 145-pound crown.
With the Bellator featherweight title around his waist, Pitbull quickly established himself as a dominant champion as he submitted Daniel Straus, then knocked out Germany’s Daniel Weichel to register back-to-back finishes in his first two title defenses.
Pitbull was edged by Straus in their rematch in November 2015, but he avenged that defeat 17 months later when he submitted Straus in the second round to recapture the belt once again.
A Dominant Champion
From 2017 to the summer of 2021, Pitbull was untouchable. After defeating Straus to reclaim the title, he defended the championship five times and became a simultaneous two-division champion when he TKO’d Michael Chandler in just 61 seconds in May 2019.
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Despite holding championships at 145 and 155 pounds, featherweight remained Pitbull’s focus, with the latter two title defenses coming in Bellator’s featherweight Grand Prix. But, after reaching the final, Pitbull’s four-year reign hit the buffers when he was submitted by A.J. McKee.
Just as he did with Straus earlier in his career, Pitbull immediately put things right in the rematch as he outpointed McKee to reclaim the title and become the first fighter in the promotion’s history to have four separate championship reigns.
Chasing More Challenges
After defeating rising Hungarian star Adam Borics to register another defense of
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Patricio Pitbull UFC 314 Interview | Tickets On Sale Now
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A trip to Saitama, Japan saw him defeat Rizin FF star Kleber Koike in a promotion versus promotion event on New Year’s Eve in 2022, while a move down to bantamweight to claim a third world title ended proved a bridge too far as he was outworked by Sergio Pettis in June 2023. Then a move up to lightweight saw him knocked out for only the second time in his career by Japanese kickboxing star Chihiro Suzuki.
Order UFC 314: Volkanovski vs Lopes
That prompted Pitbull to return to championship duty, and a victory over Canada’s Jeremy Kennedy added a final title defense to his record before his fighting career took an unplanned one-year hiatus before he gained the contractual release needed to eventually join the UFC.
Time To Answer The Questions
The Brazilian exudes an understated confidence in his abilities, backed up by a career that has proven, time after time, that he has the big-game temperament of a decorated champion.
Yair Rodriguez vs Patricio Pitbull Preview | UFC 314
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Yair Rodriguez vs Patricio Pitbull Preview | UFC 314
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And, whenever an obstacle arrives to derail his momentum, he has always bounced back. Each time he lost his featherweight title, he bounced back and defeated the man who dethroned him to recapture the crown once again. It’s the sort of stat that proves that Pitbull is a true fighting champion.
Now, at 37 years of age, blessed with a career packed with experience of being the hunted, Pitbull will relish the task of being the hunter once again as he sets his sights on the top of the UFC’s 145-pound division.
Throughout Pitbull’s career, he was the subject of one big fantasy matchmaking question. How would the undeniably brilliant Brazilian fare against the UFC’s featherweight elite?
Now, as he prepares to take on Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314, we’re going to find out.
UFC 314: Volkanovski vs Lopes took place live from Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on April 12, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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