'Pitbull' defeats Ige to pick up 1st win in UFC

Former two-division Bellator champion Patricio "Pitbull" Freire notched his first win in the Octagon with a unanimous decision against Dan Ige on Saturday at UFC 318 in New Orleans.

All three judges gave Freire the first two rounds while awarding the final one to Ige in the featherweight contest.

Freire was making his second appearance in the UFC. He lost to Yair Rodriguez in his debut in April, spoiling a highly anticipated move to the promotion after a decorated run in Bellator.

Freire used takedowns to claim the opening stanza, which featured only 13 significant strikes between the two fighters. The Brazilian hurt Ige in the second round and tried to force a stoppage, but Ige warded him off and pushed the battle into the third round. Overall, Freire struggled to pull the trigger for long stretches despite managing to come out on top.

Ige entered the matchup ranked 11th in the featherweight division, putting Freire in line to join the top 15 in the updated rankings.

The 38-year-old Freire previously held the featherweight and lightweight titles while fighting in Bellator.