After weeks of battling with the PFL authorities, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire finally got his freedom. The boss of the Professional Fighters League took to X and announced that the fight promotion released the featherweight fighter without any conditions. No doubt, the 37-year-old was pretty joyful after gaining his freedom. He was quite frustrated with the fact that he was left without a fight for months, and after that, his fight in December 2024 was canceled due to some unknown reasons. But what does he have planned for his future? Well, UFC is one of the options. 

Let’s be real, ever since ‘Pitbull’ began bashing the PFL for leaving him out of action, we lowkey expected him to step into the UFC. Even though things are a bit unclear regarding his future, let’s imagine Dana White gets him a contract. But what’s next? Who would the UFC head honcho let the former Bellator champion go up against? Let’s find out!

1. Alexander Volkanovski

Following his release from the PFL, the first UFC featherweight that ‘Pitbull’ targeted was Alexander Volkanovski. Taking to X, the former Bellator champion simply wrote, “Hi,” and went on to tag ‘The Great’ in the tweet. Needless to say, competing against one of the strongest contenders in the featherweight realm would indeed be the perfect test for the 37-year-old fighter. 

The Australian is a phenomenal striker, with 13 of his 26 wins coming from KO/TKO. Even though he’s currently on a 2-fight losing streak, he can definitely test ‘Pitbull’s strength. ‘The Great’ is known for his cardio, while ‘Pitbull’ on the other hand, is known to dominate with a balance of powerful strikes and grappling techniques. After all, he has won 12 fights via KO/TKO, and another 12 via submission. No doubt, it’d be one hell of a matchup.

And there’s a lot at stake in this matchup. If ‘Pitbull’ manages to defeat Alexander Volkanovski, he could get on the path to fight for the featherweight championship title. Of course, that’s a long shot, as of now. Since he’s preparing for his much-anticipated rematch against Ilia Topuria, we might not get a fight between ‘Pitbull’ and Volkanovski right away. Apart from that, the #1 featherweight contender has yet to respond to ‘Pitbull’s callout. 

But the 36-year-old Australian featherweight isn’t the only fighter that Dana White can put against Patricio ‘Pitbull’. He also has a lookout for the BMF champion, Max Holloway.

2. Max Holloway

The #2 featherweight contender, just like Volkanovski, is a former featherweight champion. His striking skills have often helped him dominate the Octagon throughout his career. Well, except for a couple of disappointing fights, including the recent KO defeat at the hands of ‘El Matador’. Fighting a perennially fan-favorite former featherweight champion would be one of the best scenarios for ‘Pitbull’. This matchup has the potential to test if he can handle the huge volume of strikes ‘Blessed’ loves to send toward his opponents. Of course, if the former Bellator star doesn’t have the required durability, he wouldn’t survive against Holloway.

‘Blessed’ dominates his fights with a highly above-average striking prowess. He’s prompt in Muay Thai and kickboxing, while his BJJ training helps him escape takedowns. Friere, on the other hand, is more of a grappler, even though his striking game can be counted amongst the elites. This matchup would be packed with action, with both corners throwing strong strikes, trying to take the other down. 

We can even expect Holloway to put his BMF belt on the line. No doubt, this would be a major boost to ‘Pitbull’s fame in the UFC. He might even appear on the top 15 rankings if he manages to claim a victory over the BMF champ. But there’s a catch! Holloway declared that he wasn’t going to go back to the featherweight realm. If ‘Pitbull’ has to fight ‘Blessed’, it would be in the lightweight arena. 

But there is one more fighter who can definitely give the former Bellator champ the fight of his life. And like the fight with Holloway, this would get him popularity in the lightweight realm. He’s none other than the fighter from Azerbaijan, Rafael Fiziev.

3. Rafael Fiziev

Standing on the 14 spot of the UFC lightweight rankings, Fiziev is one of the most dynamic strikers on the roster. If Dana White and Co. want to test ‘Pitbull’ against a creative striker, ‘Ataman’ would indeed be the right choice. Well, the Azerbaijani lightweight has slightly more than one-third of the experience that ‘Pitbull’ has garnered. And yet, he has 8 wins via KO/TKO. 

If the duo happen to land against each other, it’d be a pretty fast-paced fight. Both of the fighters are highly technical when it comes to striking. It would be those iconic moments of explosive power that could dictate the direction of the fight. In my opinion, this would be the perfect match to make if ‘Pitbull’ gets induced as a UFC fighter. 

A few honorary mentions would include Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira. Of course, ‘Pitbull’ deserves such high-ranked fights. After all, he conquered the lightweight and the featherweight belts at Bellator, simultaneously. He’s a former 3-time featherweight champ and 1-time lightweight champ. On top of that, he defended the featherweight belt for 9 events. Impressive, right? But that’s not all! He’s the first-ever fighter in the history of Bellator FC to have 4 different title reigns.

What are your thoughts on ‘Pitbull’s release from the PFL? Do you think he could get a chance to fight in the UFC? If yes, then who do you think should White put him up against? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.