UFC 318: Patricio Freire media day interview
UFC 318 fighter Patricio Freire spoke to MMA Junkie and reporters at media day for his main card bout vs. Dan Ige on Saturday in New Orleans.
NEW ORLEANS – Patricio Freire’s UFC debut played out like someone slowly letting the air out of a balloon. There’s no one who recognizes that more than “Pitbull” himself.
The fatal mistake wasn’t nerves or jitters, no. It was quite the opposite. Freire (36-8 MMA, 0-1 UFC) said his UFC 314 loss to Yair Rodriguez was the result of being too calm.
“The problem was that I was very calm,” Freire told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “That was my mistake. (I had) too much experience. Ten years fighting for five rounds, 25 minutes. I saw everything in the cage. I was calm and relaxed. That was my mistake. … For sure, (this one) will be a violent fight.”
Almost immediately after the loss in March, Freire launched a social media campaign for a fight vs. Dan Ige (19-9 MMA, 11-8 UFC). It wasn’t long before the promotion got on board with the idea and booked the two to fight Saturday at Smoothie King Center.
“Yeah, it makes sense,” Freire said. “He’s a tough guy. He’s the division’s gatekeeper. He separates the good from the great. He’s going to kick down that door. … I will be the first to knock him out or submit him.”
Freire, 38, said he’s focused solely on Ige. But he couldn’t help but notice the addition of another former Bellator star, Aaron Pico, to the UFC roster.
Despite the two long being aligned to clash in the now-defunct promotion, they never did. With Pico (13-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in need of a new opponent, Freire thinks that matchup could be next.
“My focus now is to beat (Ige), but after that: Aaron Pico,” Freire said. “… We were in Bellator for a long time. I was the champion, but he couldn’t get to the belt. Now we can fight. Next week? Yeah. I’m ready, always ready.”
