Former PFL champion issues bold statement as banger UFC debut gets announced after months of contract skirmish: "Your future king has arrived"

Former PFL champion Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire recently issued a bold prediction about his UFC career after his promotional debut was confirmed. Freire is widely considered the greatest fighter in Bellator history, where he competed 30 times and became champion on four different occasions.

While Freire stayed at Bellator for over a decade, it appears the promotion's merger with the PFL didn't bode well with him. Unhappy with his lack of activity, 'Pitbull' called to be released from his contract and demanded an unconditional release. His wish was ultimately granted after months of protesting.

In a recent announcement, Dana White revealed that Freire had signed with the UFC and will be making his debut against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314 in April. In an X post, 'Pitbull' shared a post with the UFC 314 fight card and sent a message to other featherweight contenders about his future in the promotion. He wrote:

"It’s time to conquer a new crown. @ufc featherweights, your future king has arrived!"

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When Dana White addressed Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire and others wanting to quit PFL to join UFC

Last December, Dana White addressed Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire and other PFL stars looking for a way out of the promotion to join the UFC. The UFC CEO notably mocked the PFL's lack of finances and mismanagement of events.

Speaking to the media at the UFC 310 post-fight presser, White addressed a question regarding Freire wanting to join his promotion and said:

"Listen, the last couple of months we’ve been talking a lot about the PFL, you know? They’re canceling a lot of shows, I know that a lot of guys that are supposed to fight aren’t fighting and I mean, you guys know what the fu*k's going on. When you see that start to happen, you're running out of money, things aren't looking good. You're gonna have people that want to jump ship."