Preview: UFC 318 ‘Holloway vs. Poirier 3’

Featherweights

Dan Ige (19-9, 11-8 UFC) vs. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (36-8, 0-1 UFC)

BETTING ODDS: Ige (-175), Freire (+145)

The UFC has started adding some high-end veteran talent once again in recent years, and the Freire’s debut in April might have been the most highly anticipated of the bunch. The Brazilian was clearly on the downslope of his career in his late 30s, but he was the consensus greatest fighter in Bellator MMA history and a former two-division champion who still appeared to be viable as a potential contender, even in the UFC’s deep featherweight division. Freire’s debut assignment against Yair Rodriguez was fascinating on paper but turned out to be just about the worst possible matchup for the UFC newcomer in practice. Freire has settled into a patient approach built around punishing defensive openings, and while Rodriguez can be a wild fighter at times, his speed and massive size advantage allowed him to navigate around “Pitbull” without much issue.

To his credit, Freire seemed to finally settle into the fight at one point in the third round, but that quickly gave way to Rodriguez landing his own best offense of the bout and salting away a clear decision. That result probably shuts what figured to be a narrow window for Freire to rocket into title contention, but there’s still plenty of potentially entertaining high-level fights for him on the UFC roster, one of which takes place here.



Ige has settled in as the benchmark between contenders and the rest of the featherweight division, as he’s an extremely dangerous opponent who also has some clear issues that can be exploited. During his rise through the division and whenever Ige gets a clear step back in competition, the Hawaiian can separate himself as a deft boxer who has some of the best one-shot knockout power at 145 pounds. Add in that he has a seemingly uncrackable chin, and few fighters can stand toe-to-toe with Ige in a shot-for-shot exchange. However, opponents past a certain level have often been able to avoid that proposition, as Ige is one of the stouter fighters in the division and doesn’t have much in the way of range weapons as a result.

Ige’s toughness and power mean he’s rarely ever truly out of a fight, even against opponents who follow a winning formula, but at this point, he has a clear ceiling, even if his willingness to throw down has made him a beloved figure. An interesting wrinkle in this matchup is that Ige is actually the taller and longer fighter on paper, which might wind up making this an advantageous matchup even against an all-time great. With that said, Freire is the level of fighter who has earned the benefit of the doubt in terms of an ability to concoct a game plan against an opponent who, despite some clear pitfalls, is still somewhat limited. We are clearly at the point where age is a concern, but the pick is Freire via decision.

Continue Reading »
Holloway vs. Poirier
Kopylov vs. Costa
Holland vs. Rodriguez
Ige vs. Freire
Zellhuber vs. Johnson
The Prelims