Patricio Freire had to battle through some early adversity in his fight with Aaron Pico at UFC 327.
Freire (37-9 MMA, 1-2 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to fellow ex-Bellator standout Pico (14-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in this past Saturday’s featured prelim at Kaseya Center in Miami.
Advertisement
Pico did a good job of mixing in his grappling and boxing, which left “Pitbull” frustrated and marked up. Freire revealed that Pico ended up causing him severe damage to the right side of his face, and he wasn’t able to properly see after Round 1.
“Congrats to my opponent, he was well trained and really fast,” Freire said in a video on “X.” “Some people in the media were saying that I was doing well in the first round, but my performance dropped sharply from the first round to the second round. It turns out I took a clean shot right in the eye with my eye wide open, a sequence of a jab and a straight right, and it ended up fracturing my orbital bone right here (right side), and this side of my nose.
“That compromised my vision right at the start of the second round, so all I could do was try to protect myself from the blows that were coming. Of course, I tried to attack, too, but with very little success. I was hit with a barrage of strikes throughout the entire second round. And anyone who saw could tell this old man still has a bit of chin here, that I can take a few hits. Unfortunately that was all I could manage given the condition I was in.”
Advertisement
Former two-division Bellator champion Freire is now 1-2 in the octagon. After losing to Yair Rodriguez in his debut at UFC 314, the 38-year-old rebounded with a win over Dan Ige at UFC 318 before losing to Pico.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Patricio Freire reveals serious injury suffered in UFC 327 loss