Aaron Pico did significant damage to the eye and nose of Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.
Freire and Pico collided in a battle of Bellator alums on the featured preliminary bout of UFC 327. Pico turned in a high-level performance that earned him a unanimous decision. The showing was so impressive that UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier said the version of Pico that was present on Saturday could give reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski problems.
As for “Pitbull,” it’s another setback late in his career. In a video posted on his X account, Freire revealed that Pico gave him a fractured right orbital bone (h/t MMAJunkie).
“Congrats to my opponent, he was well trained and really fast,” Freire said. “Some people in the media were saying that I was doing well in the first round, but my performance dropped sharply from the first round to the second round. It turns out I took a clean shot right in the eye with my eye wide open, a sequence of a jab and a straight right, and it ended up fracturing my orbital bone right here (right side), and this side of my nose.
“That compromised my vision right at the start of the second round, so all I could do was try to protect myself from the blows that were coming. Of course, I tried to attack, too, but with very little success. I was hit with a barrage of strikes throughout the entire second round. And anyone who saw could tell this old man still has a bit of chin here, that I can take a few hits. Unfortunately that was all I could manage given the condition I was in.”
As Freire approaches the age of 39 this July and having gone 1-2 under the UFC banner, many are wondering how much “Pitbull” has left. For years, Freire was a pillar of Bellator’s featherweight division. He even captured lightweight gold with the promotion, but he’s yet to really turn back the clock since signing with UFC.
Do you think Patricio “Pitbull” Freire has much fight left in him? If so, who would you match him up against next? Sound off in the comments below.