Former Bellator double-champ Patricio Pitbull faltered in his UFC debut in April, but has landed another big fight regardless.
Pitbull, fully Patricio Friere (36-8), will face Hawaiian fan favorite Dan Ige (19-9) at UFC 318 on July 19, 2025. The bout will be contested at featherweight.
News of the booking was first reported by Léo Guimaraes of Brazilian media outlet SuperLutas.
A former lightweight and featherweight champion in Bellator MMA (he held the promotion’s 145lb on multiple occasions including as the organization folded into the PFL), Patricio Pitbull holds wins over the likes of Michael Chandler, Jeremy Kennedy, A.J. McKee, Juan Archuleta, Wilson Reis and others. At age 37, after requesting his release by the PFL, he made the jump to the UFC, only to drop a decision to Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314 in Miami.
Ige, with the UFC since 2018, is coming off a victory over Sean Woodson that snapped a two-fight skid. Known for exciting, fan-friendly fights, Ige’s profile rose even higher last year when he accepted a fight with Diego Lopes at UFC 303, on just a few hours’ notice.
UFC 318 takes place at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana on July 19, 2025 and is headlined by Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway, which serves as both a “BMF” title fight, and Poirier’s retirement fight. The following match-ups have been reported for the card:
- Max Holloway (c) vs. Dustin Poirier – for the UFC “BMF” championship
- Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen
- Neil Magny vs. Gunnar Nelson
- Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira
- Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio
- Carli Judice vs. Nicolle Caliari
- Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira
- Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Veretennikov
- Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber
- Dan Ige vs. Patrício Pitbull
- Robert Valentin vs. Ateba Abega Gautier
