Patricio Freire came up short against Aaron Pico at UFC 327. |
Getty/UFC
Three days after suffering a unanimous decision defeat against
Aaron
Pico at UFC 327,
Patricio
Freire posted a video on Instagram thanking fans for their
support and providing more details about the fight held last
Saturday.
“Congratulations to my opponent, he was well-trained and very
fast,” the Brazilian acknowledged at the beginning of the
video.
Freire then addressed a common observation that his overall
performance dropped after a strong opening stanza. As it turns out,
there was a good reason for that.
“I saw many analysts saying that I started the first round well and
had a very strong drop in performance from the first to the
second,” he said. “In reality, right at the beginning of the second
round, I took a clean punch to the eye, with my eye open, a jab and
straight punch sequence, and it ended up fracturing the orbital
bone along with the side of my nose. This compromised my vision
right at the beginning of the second round.”
Still Durable
Freire acknowledged that the blow was legal, and credited his
durable chin for allowing him to make it to the final horn against
Pico.
“All I could do was try to protect myself from the blows that were
coming,” Freire said. “Of course, I tried to attack too, but with
very little success, being hit with a series of blows throughout
the second round. And those who saw it realized that the ‘old man’
has a chin that can still take punches.”
The former Bellator
MMA champion, who has lost two of his first three
UFC appearances, is taking a realistic view regarding the next
steps in his MMA career.
“I thank everyone who cheered wholeheartedly, and who are concerned
about me,” he said. “I am aware of what I can still do in this
category but also aware that, after taking a few steps back, I need
to walk a longer path, not talking about the title for now.”