feature-image
feature-image

Dominant fighters in one MMA promotion are always talked up in rival organizations by management or talent. The same holds for the UFC and Bellator MMA, but Dana White showed ignorance when asked about two-division Bellator MMA champion Patricio Freire. 

Watch What’s Trending Now!

Pitbull’ saw these comments and elected to let the UFC President know exactly who he was. Meanwhile, former UFC fighter Henry Cejudo who usually has a lot to say about rival competitors in keeping with his ‘King of Cringe’ gimmick seemed to spare ‘Pitbull.’

ADVERTISEMENT

In a telling endorsement of the fighter’s talent, ‘Triple C’ wrote, “The pound for pound king has spoken.”

Freire took to Twitter and wrote, “Hi (Dana White) I’m the one who destroyed steroids machine (Mike Chandler), whom you said deserves a talk, in 61 seconds. If you send some of your top fighters to (Bellator MMA). I can do the same to them too. Let’s bet like you did with PRIDE.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The challenge to Dana White shows that he is annoyed by the UFC President’s response to a question about how good a fighter he is. White said, “I don’t know, I honestly couldn’t tell you.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Henry Cejudo too held two belts like Patricio Freire

‘Triple C’ became the UFC’s fourth champion to hold belts in two divisions at the same time. However, unlike Freire, he has defended both his belts at least once and knows the unique challenges of maintaining an unbeaten streak while fending off threats from two separate divisions.

ADVERTISEMENT

‘The Messenger’ became the first UFC male to defend both belts successfully when the referee stopped his match against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. This was Cejudo’s final UFC appearance to date. However, despite a fighter retiring, the UFC still holds a contract for their fights.

article-image

Cejudo knows that winning two championships leaves him in a tie with many fighters. Hence he aims to go one better by claiming an unprecedented third title and claim to be the pound for pound king himself.

ADVERTISEMENT

Freire would be game to fight UFC fighters, however, such cross-promotional fights have too many contractual and rights issues to overcome. What do you make of Freire’s response to Dana White? Is it along the lines of Henry Cejudo’s reaction?

ADVERTISEMENT

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Reubyn Coutinho

1,037 Articles

Reubyn Coutinho is the Head of Fact-Checking Initiatives and Content Quality Lead at EssentiallySports, where he oversees editorial quality across multiple sports verticals. A Communication graduate, he’s spent over five years shaping the site’s evolution from a niche sports blog into an all-in-one news platform, mentoring more than 110 journalists, introducing data-driven article improvements, and developing editorial guidelines for global audiences. Across his career at ES, Reubyn has worked as a writer, editor, and senior editor, covering everything from UFC, WWE, and boxing to F1, NFL, NBA, and tennis. His bylines include exclusive interviews with former UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and Miesha Tate, as well as combat sports stars Marcus Almeida and Sage Northcutt. Known for his meticulous eye, he regularly resolves headline debates, revisits trending pieces using live analytics, and sets the standard for high-quality sports reporting. Outside of sports media, Reubyn is an active film critic, contributing reviews and festival coverage to Netflix Junkie, where he’s covered events such as MAMI, Venice, and NYAFF. Whether he’s breaking down a championship fight or a Hitchcock classic, his work comes with deep research with a pure love for sport.

Know more

ADVERTISEMENT