After battling the PFL following months of inactivity, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire got out of the PFL contract and attained his freedom. However, it also put Dana White on high alert. Of course, ‘Pitbull’ wanted to get into the Ultimate Fighting Championship. And with the kind of performance he had shown during his tenure at Bellator FC, the fighting community was pretty excited about that as well. Now, as the UFC CEO announced the cards for UFC 314, the MMA realm rejoiced to take a look at Freire’s UFC debut. 

That’s right! ‘Pitbull’ is going to fight Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314, in Miami. Needless to say, the hype around the card is pretty high. After all, ‘Pitbull’ already considers himself as the future featherweight champion. He took to X to announce the big news and shared the UFC’s post regarding UFC 314. He wrote, “It’s time to conquer a new crown. @ufc Featherweights, your future king has arrived!”

The main event would be the battle between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight title. And Freire’s words seemed like a direct challenge to Volkanovski and Lopes, or whoever would win the UFC 314 main event and become the new champion.

But did you know that Freire had already predicted that he might go up against Yair Rodriguez if he ever got inducted into the UFC? Well, he also named a few more fighters, but ‘El Pantera’ was definitely one of the names. Let’s see what the former Bellator champion previously said, shall we?

Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire takes aim at the UFC featherweight division

Back in December 2024, ‘Pitbull’ had a little chat with MMA Junkie and he talked about his desire to get out of the PFL and join the UFC. He was certainly confident about being welcomed to the fight promotion. After all, he had the numbers to prove that he was worthy of it all. With 36-7 on his record, Dana White didn’t want to let him go. But his confidence also pushed him to want a title shot right away. He said, “I would like to fight the top guys. If I can’t get a title shot right away, give me someone who could lead me there sooner rather than later.”

But who did he target? The list included names like Brian Ortega, Alexander Volkanovski, Diego Lopes, and, of course, Rodriguez. He continued, “We had some guys like Brian Ortega, Movsar Evloev, Diego Lopes, Alexander Volkanovski, and Yair Rodriguez. Some of these guys have fought for the title already. So they won’t have much fresh names besides Diego there right now. I think bringing me there would give some fresh blood to the division and would make real shakeup over there. I’d like to prove myself against these guys and show them that I belong.”

With a fight set against ‘El Pantera’, ‘Pitbull’ can indeed continue to dream about his future as a champion in the UFC. But first, he’ll have to rise up in the featherweight rankings. And before that, we need to watch the battle between ‘The Great’ and Lopes. Needless to say, the card for UFC 314 is indeed stacked. 

What are your thoughts on UFC 314? Are you excited to watch ‘Pitbull’ fight in the Octagon? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.