Former Bellator
MMA champion Patricky
Freire’s debut in the
Professional Fighters League against Clay
Collard was one of the most anticipated fights of the
organization’s 2024 season.
Advertisement
The bout lived up to the hype, as the Brazilian floored Collard in
the opening stanza before suffering a technical knockout loss at
the 1:32 mark of Round 2 on Friday at the Theater at Virgin Hotels
in Las Vegas.
Freire revealed that his change in demeanor late in the opening
frame was due to an injury that plagued him in his camp.
“This camp was very tough for me,” Freire told Sherdog.com. “I had
tendonitis in my knee that forced me to have an injection 10 days
ago, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to fight.
“A lot of people asked me after the fight why I changed my
aggressive posture after the knockdown. [It was because] I felt
some kicks he landed in addition to the injury.”
Freire revealed that he is scheduled to undergo a healing stem cell
treatment in Colombia. Depending on how that procedure goes,
“Pitbull” could be forced to withdraw from the remainder of the PFL
season.
“I’m going to Colombia to undergo stem cell treatment. It takes one
week,” Freire said. “I hope this treatment has results because if I
can’t train well, I won’t risk fighting the second stage in these
conditions again. I will make this decision with a cool head. My
focus now is to recover and return 100%.”