Patricio “Pitbull” Freire has been booked for his second UFC pay-per-view appearance of 2025.
The former two-division Bellator champion Freire (36-8 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is set to face veteran featherweight contender Dan Ige (19-9 MMA, 11-8 UFC) at UFC 318. The event takes place at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on July 19 and will be headlined by a BMF title fight between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.
The 37-year-old Freire recently secured his release from his PFL contract before signing with the UFC. He made his Octagon debut at UFC 314 in April, where he lost by unanimous decision to Yair Rodriguez.
Prior to that, the Brazilian had fought under the Bellator banner since 2010. Over the course of 30 appearances with the promotion, he captured championship belts in both the featherweight and lightweight divisions, earning notable wins over Michael Chandler, Juan Archuleta, AJ McKee, and Jeremy Kennedy.
His opponent at UFC 318, Dan Ige, also fought most recently at UFC 314. “50k” scored a third-round stoppage over Sean Woodson, snapping a two-fight losing streak and holding on to his spot in the featherweight top 15.
The fight with Freire will mark Ige’s 20th UFC appearance. The Hawaiian earned his UFC contract by submitting Luis Gomez on the inaugural season of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017.
“20th UFC fight camp has begun”, Ige tweeted earlier this week. “Never backed down from a challenge. Always a punch away from greatness.”
Fights Confirmed for UFC 318
- Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier
- Brendan Allen vs. Marvin Vettori
- Islam Dulatov vs. Adam Fugitt
- Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci
- Patricio Freire vs. Dan Ige
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira
- Neil Magny vs. Gunnar Nelson
- Vinicius Oliveira vs. Kyler Phillips
- Nicolle Caliari vs. Carli Judice
- Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio
