Just a day on the
Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, and Patricio
Freire is already calling his shots.
After months of mystery, Freire was
announced on Wednesday by Dana White as a new UFC
featherweight. The former Bellator MMA great will make his new promotional debut
at
UFC 314 in Miami on April 12, where he will come to blows with
former interim beltholder Yair
Rodriguez. Full of vim and vigor, “Pitbull” talked to multiple
Brazilian YouTube channels on Thursday, revealing details about the
negotiation process and where he sees himself in the landscape.
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“This [matchmaker] thought I was old, but my manager was able to
convince him on the contrary by recalling that I was born in the
same, day, month and year as [Alex
Pereira],” Freire explained to “Sexto Round.”
The fighter believed that he was being held out of the UFC because
one of the matchmakers did not want him on the roster. When that
concern fell away, Freire wanted to hit the ground running,
claiming he accepted many challenges offered to him. One name that
Freire claimed would not face him was Aljamain
Sterling, while the Brazilian also noted that Rodriguez
initially turned him down as well. When the option to match him
with Steve
Garcia did not materialize, Rodriguez was brought back up for
consideration.
“I accepted [to fight Garcia], but unfortunately, I wouldn’t have
time to [apply for] the work visa, so [the] UFC finally got Yair
Rodriguez [to accept] to face me in April,” the former Bellator
kingpin later told journalist Laerte
Viana.
“It couldn’t be a better way to make my Octagon debut,” “Pitbull”
remarked. “Fighting [on the main card of a pay-per-view] against
such a talented and aggressive striker ranked among the top five,
like Yair, in an event where the vacant featherweight title will be
decided in the main event.”
Since Freire knows there will be a lot of moving parts to reach the
championship picture, even with a win in April, he is paying close
attention to possible matchups for him down the line. Suggesting he
is one win away from a championship spot, Freire said to Super Lutas he
has his sights set on the winner of Alexander
Volkanovski and Diego Lopes
in the main attraction of UFC 314. He also weighed in on Ilia
Topuria‘s decision to vacate his 145-pound belt, as Topuria was
one other name on his list.
“Ilia will reach lightweight, [and he will be] really strong,” the
37-year-old analyzed. “It was the same case as mine when I went to
lightweight. Frankie
Edgar is another good example. He is smaller than I and
dominated [the lightweight] division for many years. Topuria has
above average jiujitsu and is an amazing striker. Volkanovski did
an even fight with Makhachev, [so] I truly believe Topuria can take
the crown of Makhachev.”