Fans of Patricio Freire won’t see “Pitbull” back in the cage until 2024.
In a press release Tuesday distributed by his team, it was announced Freire (35-7) underwent surgery on his cervical spine Monday to repair a herniated C6/C7 disc. The hour-long procedure took place at Hospital São Lucas in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, and was successful.
The expected recovery time for the current Bellator featherweight champion will be six months, knocking him out of competition until at least March 2024.
In June, Freire lost a bantamweight title bid by decision vs. Sergio Pettis (23-5). Less than two months later, he returned under the RIZIN banner for a last-minute lightweight booking against Chihiro Suzuki (11-3). In a shocking upset, Freire was knocked out by Suzuki in under three minutes.
According to Freire, the issue with his spine caused severe pain in his neck and weakness in his arms. The latter of the two issues Freire pointed to as a reason why he is currently on the first two-fight losing skid of his career.
“I had been feeling this compression when I received the blows in fights, and I had been feeling numbness and weakness in my arms and legs,” Freire said, in Portuguese. “I avoided this surgery because once you’ve done it, there’s no going back and there were risks involved, like not fighting again. I ended up being too conservative and paid the price. I had never lost two fights in a row and had never been knocked out in 19 years as a pro. My only way out was to have the surgery.”
Freire will eagerly await his opportunity to return to competition as he lets his body heal from the procedure. Once he’s back, Freire vows to take on all comers.
“Thanks to God and the training of the medical team, the problem was corrected and I’m sure I’ll come back stronger to defend my belt and have a rematch against Pettis for the bantamweight title and another against the Japanese Chihiro Suzuki in a defense of my title of Bellator’s feathers,” Freire said.
Bellator champion Patricio ‘Pitbull’ undergoes spine surgery, out until 2024