Boxing & MMA

Who is Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire? Record, bio, net worth of MMA star and Bellator champion

One of the most dominant featherweights in MMA history, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire holds multiple records in Bellator. A three-time featherweight and one-time lightweight champion, the always serious Freire gives it his all each time he steps in the cage. 

The current featherweight champion will represent Bellator when he faces RIZIN featherweight champion Kleber Koike Erbst on December 31. It is a collaborative event between Bellator and RIZN, with neither titles on the line. 

“When I was a child, I was watching ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira, Wanderlei Silva, ‘Shogun.’ I had that dream: I want to fight there in Japan. So, today its happened. I’m very happy to be here. I’m going to represent my country, but I love this country,” Freire stated at a press conference.

Here is all you need to know about Freire, a man with a prestigious history as a Bellator veteran.

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Patricio Freire record and bio

Training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu since he was 10, Freire made his pro debut at 16 in 2004. Primarily fighting in Brazil to start his career, “Pitbull” joined Bellator in 2010 and has amassed a 22-5 record with the promotion.

In 2011, Freire won the Bellator Season 4 Featherweight Tournament, and in 2013, won the Season 9 tournament. In 2014 he won the Bellator featherweight title against Pat Curran. Losing it in 2015, Freire regained the title in 2017 against Daniel Straus. Already featherweight champion, he beat Michael Chandler in 2019 for the Bellator lightweight title.

Defending the Bellator featherweight title in the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix, Freire went 3-0 before losing the title against A.J. McKee in the finals in 2021. Relinquishing the lightweight title to focus on regaining the featherweight belt, Freire beat McKee to become champion again.  

His last fight was a win over Adam Borics in October. Freire holds the record for most wins in Bellator history.

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Patricio Freire’s net worth

Patricio Freire has a net worth of about $1 million.

Comparing him to other fighters, per Media Referee, A.J. McKee has a net worth of about $2 million. Alexander Volkanovski has a net worth of over $2 million. Kamaru Usman’s net worth is about $3 million. 

Patricio Freire’s social media influence

Freire has 167 followers on Instagram, 31.1K followers on Twitter, and 30K followers on Facebook. 

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Who is Patricio Freire’s brother? 

Patricio is the younger brother of Patricky Freire. Patricky made his pro debut in 2005 and joined Bellator in 2011. He competed in the Season 4 Lightweight Tournament but lost to Michael Chandler in the finals. The other “Pitbull” brother also lost the Season Ten Tournament Finals against Marcin Held. 

After competing in RIZIN, losing in that promotion’s lightweight final, Freire competed for the Bellator lightweight title in 2021. That came after Patricio vacated the belt to focus on the McKee rematch. Patricky beat Peter Queally in November 2021 to win the belt. A year later, at Bellator 288, Freire lost his last fight and the belt against Usman Nurmagomedov. 

Freire has a 15-9 record with Bellator. 


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