Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire Nearly Didn’t Fight Curran After Being Injured At Bellator Photo Shoot

“I was asked a few times about the injury, and I said it wasn’t true. I actually canceled the fight a couple weeks before the event, I said I couldn’t do it. I had the worst camp of my life. I was so injured I couldn’t throw a kick, and then I injured my shoulder and I couldn’t throw a punch, too. I usually train twice a day, and I was barely training once a day. I had fever every time I stopped training. It was terrible.”

“Three days after I pulled out of the fight, Bellator called me again asking me if I was good to fight. I said I was still recovering, so they gave me a week to think. They called me again on Aug. 29, a week before the fight. My manager Jorge Guimaraes told me ‘man, let’s do this, you are ready. Every fighter has injuries. Get some rest, make weight, and let’s do this.’ I sparred, did five rounds, so I decided to take the fight.”

“Curran knew I was injured because they tried to get him another opponent, so he knew I was dealing with some issues. But that fight was tough, man. Curran gave me the toughest wars of my life. And I believe the fight would be even tougher if I was 100 percent.

“I knew it would be a war, and I would have to do my best in there to win the title. I didn’t want to leave it to the judges, but Curran is so tough. I knew I was winning, but I kept pushing forward and attacking him, and it paid off.”