Patricio ‘Pitbull’ made peace after 11 years, then delivered a UFC TKO

Patricio "Pitbull" Freire reignited his UFC career by reuniting with legendary boxing coach Edelson Silva after 11 years apart, a reunion that bore immediate fruit when Freire finished Doo Ho Choi by first-round technical knockout at UFC 331. The former Bellator champion credited Silva's return to his corner as the turning point, saying the reunion freed him to fight without hesitation. Speaking to UFC Brazil immediately after his victory, Freire explained that Silva had worked with him from 2000 to 2015 before the two drifted apart for a decade while Silva coached Anderson Silva's camps. "I wasn't letting myself go in the previous fights, but thank God I was able to find myself again in this one," Freire said. The knockout came in the final bout of Freire's current UFC contract, leaving his immediate future in the promotion uncertain. Dana White commended the victory but offered no clarity on whether Freire will receive a contract renewal, leaving both parties to navigate next steps without public commitment either way.