Skip to content
The Fight Brief

Patricio Pitbull vs. Doo Ho Choi

UFC 331 · September 19, 2026 · Crypto.com Arena · Main Card 9:00 PM ET

The brief

What kind of fight
Veteran knockout artists colliding
Finish likelihood
Very High
The line
No line posted yet
The stakes
Featherweight · Main Card

The read

This has finish written all over it given both men's willingness to trade and their combined knockout resumes.

Pitbull's volume and top-end power have troubled far bigger names, but Choi's precision counter-boxing and one-punch pop make him dangerous in exchanges most fighters wouldn't survive.

A knockout for either man inside two rounds is the likeliest outcome, with a slight edge to Pitbull's championship-level experience if it goes longer.

The matchup

Patricio Pitbull
Balanced Finisher
Former Bellator champion · Heavy hands · Durable
GrapplingStriking
Doo Ho Choi
Knockout Artist
UFC Hall of Famer · Heavy hands · Boxing
GrapplingStriking

Two of the featherweight division's hardest-hitting veterans collide in a fight that could end in a hurry either way.

Pitbull brings finishing power from every position and a granite chin built over a decade at the top of Bellator, while Choi is a pure knockout artist who has stopped 14 of his 17 career opponents.

Both men are on the wrong side of 35 and both have shown recent vulnerability, which only raises the stakes on who lands first.

Tale of the tape

37-9Record17-4-1
39Age35
5'6"Height5'9"
65.5"Reach70"
OrthodoxStanceOrthodox
BrazilCountrySouth Korea
Pitbull BrothersTeamJayden's Dojo

The numbers

Career UFC averages. Red bar = statistical edge.

Patricio PitbullDoo Ho Choi
Sig. strikes landed / min (volume)
Striking accuracy (precision)
Sig. strikes absorbed / min (lower is better)
Striking defense (strikes avoided)
Takedowns / 15 min (wrestling offense)
Takedown accuracy
Takedown defense
Submission attempts / 15 min

The fighters

Patricio Pitbull 37-9

Pitbull

Patricio "Pitbull" Freire is a 39-year-old Brazilian featherweight and a three-time Bellator featherweight champion and one-time Bellator lightweight champion who joined the UFC in 2025. His UFC record sits at 1-2, with the lone win a decision over Dan Ige sandwiched between decision losses to Yair Rodriguez and, most recently, Aaron Pico in April 2026. Twelve of his 37 career wins have come by knockout and 12 by submission, giving him finishing threats everywhere the fight goes as he looks to prove his Bellator dominance translates at the highest level.

How they win
12 KO/TKO12 SUB13 DEC
Last 3 fights
  • LAaron Pico · Decision (unanimous)UFC 327 · April 11, 2026
  • WDan Ige · Decision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night · July 19, 2025
  • LYair Rodriguez · Decision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night · April 12, 2025

Full Pitbull profile →

Doo Ho Choi 17-4-1

The Korean Superboy

Doo Ho "The Korean Superboy" Choi is a 35-year-old South Korean featherweight and a 2022 UFC Hall of Fame inductee for his 2016 Fight of the Year classic with Cub Swanson. Fourteen of his 17 career wins have come by knockout, and he enters on a three-fight winning streak capped by a Fight of the Night stoppage of Daniel Santos in May 2026. He now gets his highest-profile assignment in years against former two-division Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull.

How they win
14 KO/TKO1 SUB2 DEC
How they lose
2 KO/TKO0 SUB2 DEC
Last 3 fights
  • WDaniel Santos · KO/TKO (strikes)UFC Fight Night · May 16, 2026
  • WNate Landwehr · KO/TKO (strikes)UFC 310 · December 7, 2024
  • WBill Algeo · KO/TKO (strikes)UFC on ESPN · July 20, 2024

Full Choi profile →