Dana White’s UFC praised by ‘Bellator GOAT’ after messy situation with PFL: “They honor their OGs”

Free agency hunting, ex-Bellator MMA champ Patricio “Pitbull” Freire slams PFL for holding matching rights; veers the Dana White and UFC way.

Dana White’s UFC praised by ‘Bellator GOAT’ after messy situation with PFL: “They honor their OGs”

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire refers to Dana White and Co., rips PFL after Bellator MMA split (Source: X/IMAGO)

“Frenemy” is a portmanteau of friend and enemy. This refers to the act of sharing a friendly disposition despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry, A.K.A. friend of an enemy. Subsequently previous Bellator MMA titleholder Patricio “Pitbull” Freire should be rivals to PFL polar opposites UFC and its CEO Dana White. But top dog Pitbull strolled into frenemy territory and chose UFC as the better option here.

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) dissolved brand equity and the pure existence of the Bellator MMA brand recently. PFL chairman and founder Donn Davis confirmed as much in a press release, confirming an initial report by Ariel Helwani. Patricio “Pitbull” was at odds with PFL after their Bellator takeover for a while. Now, he instigates the topic of his release with UFC and Dana White in tow.

Look at the @ufc, @DonnDavisPFL, they honor their OGs. She asked for a release and they gave it to her, made no fuss about it, they are honorable. That’s how big organizations do things when a fighter doesn’t want to continue with them. You should learn from it.

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (@PatricioPitbull) on X
YouTube video

This comes in light of former UFC women’s bantamweight titleholder and boxing HOF Holly Holm leaving and opting for free agency. Despite two fights left on her contractual run, brass and litigation honored the request from her agent Lenny Fresquez. Meanwhile, in social media statements, PFL’s Davis obliged ‘GOAT’ Pitbull’s release but tied him up in contractual matching rights.

While now-UFC lightweight Michael Chandler was the brand face “Mr. Bellator”, “Pitbull” was the Bellator MMA GOAT. Freire (36-7 MMA, 24-6 UFC) was a 3-time champion featherweight champion in 30 appearances.

Moreover, the powerful Brazilian also held the lightweight title in his total 4 reigns with nine title defenses. “Pitbull” later said the PFL MMA Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications released him without fight clauses or matching rights. Now, he’s seeking opportunities elsewhere, namely UFC.

UFC debut soon? Free agent Patricio Pitbull already has a “Great” callout in mind at featherweight

Not long after Professional Fighters League (PFL) closed shop on Bellator MMA, the fighter lineup got its shake. This mega revamp of the 2025 event schedule isn’t the only such change. PFL is “one-brand” in its core now. There also won’t be a season-long tournament with a $1 million purse. Instead, there’d be a Champions Series event crowning divisional champs with $500,000 prize in fighter-specific contracts.

Patricio "Pitbull" Freire already on peekaboo with UFC opponents
Patricio “Pitbull” Freire already on peekaboo with UFC opponents (Source: X)

Featherweight champ Patricio “Pitbull” Freire had been pushing for a release for a while now, not been able to book a fight in the convoluted merger. Now, in the shakeup and his release, he has turned his attention to UFC again. Namely to former Top Pound-for-pound and featherweight king Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski.

Indeed, Pitbull posted a simple “hi” on social media, tagging the former UFC 145-pound champion. Now, not for nothing, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire has made this call-up before as well. This was during the on-sale phase before Bellator fell into the Viacom execs’ and PFL’s lap.

Volkanovski is coming off back-to-back title losses. But the legendary Aussie once went on a historic 5-0 reign and is still considerably one of the greatest. Much like Freire, he has also tried for double-dip aspirations at lightweight. Pitbull has gone on record saying that he would love to compete inside the world-famous Octagon before his career ends. Only time will tell if Dana White can make it happen.

Related: Patricio Pitbull sparks up debate by calling out Francis Ngannou to help fix ailing fighter issues in PFL