Michael Bispin’s Question: Whether Patricio Freire did too much damage to affect UFC 314 performance.
Freire (36-7 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his octagon debut against former interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez (16-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in Saturday’s main card opening match at Kaseya Center at Kaseya Center in Miami (ESPN+Pay-Per-View, ESPN/DISNEY+, ESPN+).
Freire has a long career with Bellator, shooting both featherweight and lightweight titles simultaneously. “Pitbull” has extensive experience and outstanding victory throughout his career, but the 37-year-old has lost two of his past three fights.
“Can the old man do that? Patricio ‘Pit Bull’, who came from 37-year-old Bellator and I think he was a four-time champion,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Perhaps the biggest victory, a malicious right hand when knocked out ‘Iron’ Mike Chandler in the first round. He has good jiu-jitsu, but he is 37 years old. There is a lot of wear and tears, and the watch has many miles.
“43 professional fights, 36 wins, 7 losses, but he was knocked out twice. But when you fought multiple times, there’s no problem with that. Of course, he takes on the only Yair Rodriguez, one of Mexico’s finest. He stopped again against Brian Ortega.
Outside of Movsar Evloev, it is a muddy waters at the top of the featherweight division. So, Bispin believes that the next title challenger could emerge from this matchup.
“Would either of these guys be the next guy to fight for the featherweight strap? “One of these guys might be the next guy to fight for the belt because Volkanovski wants to be active. That’s if he gets the job done.”
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