Patricio
“Pitbull” Freire delivered a statement win in a bid to extend
his stay in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Freire took on Doo Ho Choi
(17-5) in a featherweight tilt at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. This being
the last fight of his contract, Freire repeatedly stated his desire
to continue fighting in the UFC and promised to put on a
performance worthy of a contract renewal.
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Patricio Freire knocks out Doo Ho Choi at UFC 331 before
calling out Jean Silva
Freire backed up his promise, dropping Choi with a monstrous right
hand to earn a first-round finish. Having had a lukewarm UFC career
before UFC 331, the former Bellator
champ apologized to fans and called out Jean Silva,
who is known for barking at his opponents, to determine the bigger
dog amongst the two.
“I’m sorry about my last three fights,” Freire said in his
post-fight interview. “I feel that [UFC 331] was my debut. I don’t
know what happened to me. But I’m so happy… The pressure here is
bigger [than Bellator]. But now I feel comfortable… Jean Silva,
let’s see who is the dog.”
Freire (38-9) previously lost to Yair
Rodriguez and Aaron Pico
in the UFC, while edging a lackluster unanimous decision against
Dan
Ige. Meanwhile, Silva (18-3) has finished five of his six UFC
wins, while only losing to two-time title challenger Diego
Lopes. “Lord” beat Jose
Delgado at
Noche UFC 4 earlier this month.