Dan Ige vs. Patricio Pitbull: UFC 318 Odds, Prediction

The lone featherweight bout on the UFC 318 card from New Orleans on Saturday night is an intriguing matchup between ranked Dan Ige and former Bellator two-division champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Ige is a -200 favourite on the MMA odds with Pitbull at +165 for the scheduled three-rounder.

UFC 318: Dan Ige

The 33-year-old Ige, who was born in Hawaii but now fights out of Las Vegas, is 19-9 in his MMA career and ranked No. 11 in the UFC featherweight division – currently ruled by Alexander Volkanovski. Ige is yet to fight for a title in his career in any organization.

Since winning a sixth straight bout in June 2018, “50K” is 5-7. He was last in the Octagon in April and beat Sean Woodson by third-round TKO (punches). To start Round 3, Ige stunned Woodson by landing an overhand left hand. When Woodson attempted to seize Ige’s leg in a failed takedown attempt, Ige proceeded to land hard shots to the head, and the bout would be called. Woodson entered on a seven-fight unbeaten streak.

Ige called out “Pitbull” – who fought on the same April card – after the win: “I’ve had my eyes on Pitbull forever. One of the pound-for-pound greatest featherweights to ever do it, he’s a legend of the sport. I’m a big fan and I think stylistically, it’s one of the best fights you can make. Two guys very similar stature, dangerous punching power, both finishers, both want to win. I mean, who wouldn’t watch that fight. I think everyone would love to watch that fight.”

The 5-foot-7 Ige has a reach of 71 inches and his bouts average 12:42. He lands 3.67 significant strikes per minute with 45 per cent accuracy and absorbs 3.55 with 56 per cent defence. His takedown average is 0.94 per 15 minutes with 25 per cent accuracy, and his takedown defence is 58 per cent. While all nine of Ige’s losses are by decision, he has seven wins via the judges, seven by KO/TKO and five by submission. Ige’s favoured method Saturday is via decision at +110. A draw is +5000.

UFC 318: Patricio “Pitbull” Freire

The 36-year-old Freire has a career mark of 36-8 and is unranked in the UFC because this is only his second fight in it after being a three-time featherweight champion and one-time lightweight champion in Bellator. Some would say “Pitbull” is the best ever from that organization. Freire had the most fights (30), victories (24) and stoppage victories (15) in the history of the now-defunct Bellator. He also competed in the most title fights (18) and earned the most title fight victories (15).

However, he has lost three of his past four overall after falling to Yair Rodriguez, currently the No. 3 ranked featherweight, in his UFC debut in April by unanimous decision. It was the right call by the judges as Rodriguez dominated, and they all three scored it 30-27 in his favour. “Pitbull” landed just 17 significant strikes to Rodriguez’s 70. Freire’s UFC debut came after a much-publicized falling out with PFL following the promotion’s acquisition of Bellator in late 2023.

The 5-foot-6 Freire has a reach of 67 inches and his bouts average 16:20. He averages 2.45 significant strikes per minute with 40 per cent accuracy and absorbs 4.48 with 57 per cent defence. His takedown average is 0.69 per 15 minutes with 20 per cent accuracy, and his takedown defence is 88 per cent.

The majority of losses by “Pitbull” (63 per cent) are by decision, while he has exactly 12 wins by KO/TKO, submission and decision each. His favoured method of victory Saturday is by decision at +240. That it goes the distance is -250 with no at +175.