Patricio 'Pitbull' reveals he suffered fractured orbital in Round 2 against Aaron Pico

Patricio Freire came up short against Aaron Pico at UFC 327. | Getty/UFC

Three days after suffering a unanimous decision defeat against Aaron Pico at UFC 327, Patricio Freire posted a video on Instagram thanking fans for their support and providing more details about the fight held last Saturday.

"Congratulations to my opponent, he was well-trained and very fast," the Brazilian acknowledged at the beginning of the video.

Freire then addressed a common observation that his overall performance dropped after a strong opening stanza. As it turns out, there was a good reason for that.

“I saw many analysts saying that I started the first round well and had a very strong drop in performance from the first to the second,” he said. “In reality, right at the beginning of the second round, I took a clean punch to the eye, with my eye open, a jab and straight punch sequence, and it ended up fracturing the orbital bone along with the side of my nose. This compromised my vision right at the beginning of the second round.”

Still Durable

Freire acknowledged that the blow was legal, and credited his durable chin for allowing him to make it to the final horn against Pico.

“All I could do was try to protect myself from the blows that were coming,” Freire said. “Of course, I tried to attack too, but with very little success, being hit with a series of blows throughout the second round. And those who saw it realized that the ‘old man’ has a chin that can still take punches.”

The former Bellator MMA champion, who has lost two of his first three UFC appearances, is taking a realistic view regarding the next steps in his MMA career.

“I thank everyone who cheered wholeheartedly, and who are concerned about me,” he said. “I am aware of what I can still do in this category but also aware that, after taking a few steps back, I need to walk a longer path, not talking about the title for now.”