September 19, 2026 · Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, United States
Pitbull
37-9-0
#15 FeatherweightMossoró, Brazil | 39 years old
Choi
17-4-1
UnrankedGumi, South Korea | 35 years old
The Last Fight on the Deal
At 39, the former two-division Bellator champ puts his ranking and his UFC future on the line against the Korean knockout artist who called his name on the mic.
Conviction
Conviction 5. The read leans Choi, but Pitbull's path is concrete and Choi's own record backs it up: Algeo took him down and held top for 3:02 of round 1 in 2024, Nelson landed five takedowns in 2023, and Pitbull did exactly that to Ige 14 months ago. The most recent evidence cuts the other way, since Santos went 0-for-6 on shots in May, and Pitbull attempted only four takedowns across his two UFC losses, which tells you his game plans don't always chase the mat. That's why the underdog sits at 41%, well above the roughly 32% the line implies, and why the conviction doesn't climb. There's a real caveat on Choi's side too: his last five opponents were unranked veterans, and Santos still nearly knocked him out in round 1.
Conviction 5. The read leans Choi, but Pitbull's path is concrete and Choi's own record backs it up: Algeo took him down and held top for 3:02 of round 1 in 2024, Nelson landed five takedowns in 2023, and Pitbull did exactly that to Ige 14 months ago. The most recent evidence cuts the other way, since Santos went 0-for-6 on shots in May, and Pitbull attempted only four takedowns across his two UFC losses, which tells you his game plans don't always chase the mat. That's why the underdog sits at 41%, well above the roughly 32% the line implies, and why the conviction doesn't climb. There's a real caveat on Choi's side too: his last five opponents were unranked veterans, and Santos still nearly knocked him out in round 1.
THE DECIDING POINT
Choi's Range vs. Pitbull's Takedowns
Patricio Pitbull has lost twice in the UFC, and both losses followed the same script: he got outworked at range. Yair Rodriguez outlanded him 70-17 in significant strikes and dropped him in the third. Aaron Pico outlanded him 100-49, broke his orbital bone and nose early in round 2, and took two cards 30-27. Across three Octagon appearances, the former two-division Bellator champ has won just two of nine rounds on the majority of scorecards. And the metric that measures that script is exactly where Dooho Choi lives: 5.00 significant strikes per minute to Pitbull's 2.77, a three-inch reach edge, and six UFC wins, every one of them by stoppage. The only two rounds Pitbull has banked in the UFC came from somewhere else. Against Dan Ige he went 5-for-9 on takedowns and swept rounds 1 and 2 on all three cards. That's Choi's documented hole: 59% takedown defense, with Kyle Nelson landing five takedowns in 2023 and Bill Algeo holding him down for 3:02 of the first round in 2024. So the whole fight comes down to one question: can a 39-year-old Pitbull close the distance and get Choi down before he pays for it on the feet?
Patricio Pitbull has lost twice in the UFC, and both losses followed the same script: he got outworked at range. Yair Rodriguez outlanded him 70-17 in significant strikes and dropped him in the third. Aaron Pico outlanded him 100-49, broke his orbital bone and nose early in round 2, and took two cards 30-27. Across three Octagon appearances, the former two-division Bellator champ has won just two of nine rounds on the majority of scorecards. And the metric that measures that script is exactly where Dooho Choi lives: 5.00 significant strikes per minute to Pitbull's 2.77, a three-inch reach edge, and six UFC wins, every one of them by stoppage. The only two rounds Pitbull has banked in the UFC came from somewhere else. Against Dan Ige he went 5-for-9 on takedowns and swept rounds 1 and 2 on all three cards. That's Choi's documented hole: 59% takedown defense, with Kyle Nelson landing five takedowns in 2023 and Bill Algeo holding him down for 3:02 of the first round in 2024. So the whole fight comes down to one question: can a 39-year-old Pitbull close the distance and get Choi down before he pays for it on the feet?
Truth A
Choi owns the tool that has already beaten Pitbull twice in the UFC. He lands nearly twice as much per minute, he's four inches taller and four years younger, and he's facing a man who absorbed 170 significant strikes across his two Octagon losses.
Truth B
Choi gets hit and gets taken down. He absorbs 4.43 significant strikes per minute, admitted Daniel Santos nearly knocked him out in the first round in May, and two of the last three opponents who shot on him got him down. Pitbull has 12 career submissions, and Choi has never won a decision in the UFC.
Tale of the Tape
Pitbull is four years older
Choi is four inches taller
Choi has a three-inch reach edge
Choi has Chan Sung Jung, The Korean Zombie, in his corner
Current Form
Patricio Pitbull
Competitive first round with low kicks and body work, then fractured his orbital and nose early in round 2. Pico outlanded him 100-49 and went 6-for-13 on takedowns.
Unanimous DecisionFirst UFC win. Five takedowns on nine attempts and 2:44 of control, swept rounds 1 and 2 on all three cards and gave away the third.
Unanimous DecisionUFC debut against the No. 5 contender. Outlanded 70-17 in significant strikes, dropped in round 3, and still threw up an armbar attempt.
Unanimous DecisionHis last stoppage win. Finished Kennedy with knees and punches at 4:07 of round 3 in Belfast under the Bellator banner.
TKO R3Super Rizin 2 in Japan. Knocked out by a single punch at 2:32 of round 1, the only clean knockout loss of his career.
KO R1He's 1-2 in the UFC, and both losses were lopsided: 30-27 on five of six scorecards. In the most recent one, against Pico in April, he broke his orbital bone and nose early in round 2 and spent the rest of the night covering up. He's still No. 15 at featherweight and heads into the last fight on his contract saying he'll win and re-sign. The motivation is maxed out. The question is a 39-year-old body that soaked up 170 significant strikes across his two Octagon losses.
Dooho Choi
Lost round 1 by 47-28 in significant strikes and nearly got finished. Won round 2 by 44-25, scored a knockdown and ended it with a body shot at 4:29. Santos went 0-for-6 on takedowns.
TKO R2Complete performance: 78-25 in significant strikes, 4-for-5 on takedowns and 7:13 of control, then elbows from the crucifix to stop Landwehr in round 3.
TKO R3Algeo put him on his back twice and held top for 3:02 of round 1. Choi came out for round 2 and flattened him with a punch at range at 3:38.
TKO R2Return after more than three years away. Outlanded Nelson 50-20, but Nelson landed five takedowns and logged 5:34 of control. A point deduction for a headbutt in round 3 turned the win into a draw.
Majority DrawDropped twice and stopped at 4:32 of round 2. His second straight knockout loss after Stephens in 2018.
TKO R2Three straight wins, all by stoppage, his first run like that in the UFC since 2016. He sat out 17 months between December 2024 and May 2026 with a knee injury that scrapped a September 2025 date with Santos. In the comeback he lost the first round, admitted he nearly got knocked out, listened to The Korean Zombie in his corner and turned it around in round 2 with a body shot, banking Fight of the Night. He called out Pitbull on the mic and now gets his shot at a ranking for the first time since 2018.
Level of Competition
No common opponents. In the UFC, Pitbull has faced the No. 5 contender (Yair), the No. 12 (Ige) and Pico, now No. 12, on top of a title-laden Bellator career. Choi's last five opponents were all unranked, and his three UFC losses came against Swanson (No. 4 in 2016), Stephens (No. 9 in 2018) and Jourdain (2019). The strength of schedule tilts one notch toward the Brazilian, not enough to flip the read.
Statistical Comparison
Sig. Strikes per Minute
Choi produces nearly twice the output per minute
Striking Accuracy (%)
Strikes Absorbed per Minute
Both men get hit plenty
Striking Defense (%)
Takedowns per 15 Min
Same average, but Pitbull's five takedowns on Ige produced his only UFC win
Takedown Accuracy (%)
Takedown Defense (%)
The number the underdog path is built on: Choi's 59%
Submissions per 15 Min
Pitbull leads in 1 categories · Choi leads in 5
Win & Loss Distribution
Wins
KO/TKO
Submission
Decision
Choi is a pure finisher: 14 of his 17 wins by KO/TKO (82%), and all six of his UFC wins ended inside the distance. Pitbull is the more complete fighter, split almost evenly between knockouts (12), submissions (12) and decisions (13). Two caveats matter for the method: Pitbull's last knockout came in March 2024 and he hasn't scored a single knockdown in three UFC fights, and his 12 submissions run into a Choi who has never been submitted.
Losses
KO/TKO
Submission
Decision
Pitbull is hard to put away: six of his nine losses went to the scorecards, and one of his two TKO losses was a leg injury against Benson Henderson in 2016. The only clean knockout on his record is Suzuki in 2023. In the UFC he's never been stopped, even after getting dropped by Yair in round 3 and fighting two rounds on a broken orbital against Pico. Choi has four losses, two by knockout (Stephens in 2018, Jourdain in 2019) and two on the cards, and he's never been submitted in 22 pro fights. The method read: Choi has to break a man who usually makes it to the final bell, and Pitbull's realistic route is a decision built from top position, not a submission.
Skills Profile
Pitbull
vs
Choi
Striking at Range
+3 Choi
Choi lands 5.00 significant strikes per minute to Pitbull's 2.77 and carries a three-inch reach edge.
Close-Range Striking
+1 Pitbull
In the clinch, Pitbull is the more technical fighter: he went 12-for-12 on significant strikes there against Pico.
Knockout Power
+3 Choi
Six UFC wins by stoppage for Choi, against zero knockdowns for Pitbull in three Octagon fights.
Striking Defense
Even
Both men get hit a lot: 4.61 strikes absorbed per minute for Pitbull, 4.43 for Choi.
Grappling & Clinch
+3 Pitbull
Twelve career submissions, five takedowns against Ige and 74% takedown defense, against Choi's 59%.
Cardio (3 Rounds)
+1 Choi
Pitbull dropped the final round in all three of his UFC fights; Choi had his best round against Santos in round 2 and stopped Landwehr in round 3.
Choi wins this at range and on power; Pitbull wins it on the mat and in the clinch. Whoever decides where the fight happens in the opening minutes of each round takes the cards or the stoppage.
Final Prediction
The Thesis
Conviction5/10The thesis is: Dooho Choi wins because both of Pitbull's UFC losses came from getting outworked at range (70-17 against Yair, 100-49 against Pico) and that's exactly Choi's tool, 5.00 significant strikes per minute to Pitbull's 2.77 with a three-inch reach edge; because the 39-year-old Pitbull arrives off a knockdown in his debut, a broken orbital in his last fight and just two rounds won out of nine in the Octagon; and because all six of Choi's UFC wins ended inside the distance, with The Korean Zombie in his corner fixing the fight between rounds the way he did in the comeback over Santos.
The thesis is: Dooho Choi wins because both of Pitbull's UFC losses came from getting outworked at range (70-17 against Yair, 100-49 against Pico) and that's exactly Choi's tool, 5.00 significant strikes per minute to Pitbull's 2.77 with a three-inch reach edge; because the 39-year-old Pitbull arrives off a knockdown in his debut, a broken orbital in his last fight and just two rounds won out of nine in the Octagon; and because all six of Choi's UFC wins ended inside the distance, with The Korean Zombie in his corner fixing the fight between rounds the way he did in the comeback over Santos.
The path is Choi surviving the first-round takedown entries, establishing the jab and right hand at range from round 2 on, and investing in the body until the stoppage late in round 2 or in round 3. It breaks down if Pitbull runs back the Ige game plan, takedowns in two rounds and control against the fence, attacking the 59% takedown defense that Nelson and Algeo already cracked.
What Breaks This Pick
- 01
If Pitbull lands a takedown in round 1 and holds top position for more than two minutes, the way Algeo did with 3:02 of round 1 in 2024, the range thesis loses a round it needed to win.
- 02
If Choi repeats his first round against Santos, shelling up behind his guard and losing the strike count 47-28, Pitbull's counters get a window to decide this early.
- 03
If the low kicks that took Pico off balance in round 1 cut Choi's base out from under him, the 5.00-per-minute output never shows up and the fight turns into clinch work on the fence.
- 04
If it reaches round 3 close on the cards, Choi walks into territory where he's never won in the UFC: in his two fights that went the distance, he has a loss and a draw.
Underdog Path
Pitbull starts tight, chops the lead leg with low kicks the way he did in round 1 against Pico, and waits for Choi's right hand to change levels and grab the waist. He finishes the takedown in round 1, pins Choi to the fence and closes the round on top. In round 2 he comes back in through the clinch, where he went 12-for-12 on significant strikes against Pico, and banks the round on control. In round 3 he weathers Choi's urgency, ties him up in the clinch and threatens the neck on the scrambles. He takes it 29-28, the same score he got on all three cards against Ige.
Required Conditions
- Land takedowns in at least two rounds, repeating the 5-for-9 he went against Ige
- Never stand still in punching range, where Choi lands 5.00 significant strikes per minute
- Keep Choi down for more than two minutes a round, the way Algeo did with 3:02 in round 1 in 2024
- Avoid clean early damage after the Yair knockdown and the orbital fracture against Pico
— Precedent: Pitbull vs. Dan Ige (UFC 318, July 2025): five takedowns on nine attempts, 2:44 of control and a 29-28 sweep on all three cards against the No. 12 contender. Against Choi himself, Kyle Nelson landed five takedowns and logged 5:34 on top in February 2023; it went down as a majority draw after Choi lost a point for a headbutt.
Verdict
Winner
Dooho Choi
Method
TKO
Most Likely
- 01
Winner
Patricio Pitbull
Pitbull because his path is concrete and documented: five takedowns against Ige and a Choi who has already been taken down seven times by Nelson and Algeo. The market is off because prices Choi near 70%, and our number is 56%. Breaks if Choi stuffs the early entries the way he stuffed all six of Santos' shots in May. Minimum stake.
- 02
Method
Choi by KO/TKO
Choi by stoppage because all six of his UFC wins ended inside the distance and Pitbull absorbed 170 significant strikes across his two losses. It only has value or better, which is the fair price by our math. Breaks because Pitbull has never been stopped in the UFC, not after the Yair knockdown and not with a broken orbital against Pico.
Most Likely Outcome
Patricio Pitbull
This doesn't contradict the pick. Choi is the likelier winner, but the line makes you pay a premium for it. At conviction 5 with the underdog at 41%, the only bet with real mathematical value is Pitbull, and even that one stays small.
Stats That Matter
2 of 9
rounds won by Pitbull in the UFC, per the majority of scorecards
Both came off takedowns against Ige; he got outworked in the other seven
170
significant strikes Pitbull absorbed across his two UFC losses, against 66 landed
70 from Yair and 100 from Pico, with a knockdown and a broken orbital along the way
7
takedowns Nelson and Algeo landed on Choi, good for 8:43 of top time
The hole Pitbull's path has to attack
The Trap
Choi by first-round knockout
People remember the Choi who put Puig away in 18 seconds and Sicilia in 1:33, but that was 2014 and 2015. His three recent finishes came at 3:38 of round 2, 3:21 of round 3 and 4:29 of round 2. In his last two fights with a contested first round, he lost it to Santos by 47-28 and spent 3:02 of it under Algeo. On the other side, Pitbull has never been stopped in the UFC, not after Yair dropped him and not while fighting with a broken orbital against Pico. If Choi finishes him, history says it comes late.
People remember the Choi who put Puig away in 18 seconds and Sicilia in 1:33, but that was 2014 and 2015. His three recent finishes came at 3:38 of round 2, 3:21 of round 3 and 4:29 of round 2. In his last two fights with a contested first round, he lost it to Santos by 47-28 and spent 3:02 of it under Algeo. On the other side, Pitbull has never been stopped in the UFC, not after Yair dropped him and not while fighting with a broken orbital against Pico. If Choi finishes him, history says it comes late.
COLISEUM - Statistical and tactical analysis. Data sourced from ufcstats.com and public sources.
Patricio "Pitbull" Freire vs Dooho "The Korean Superboy" Choi | UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2 | September 19, 2026 | Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, United States
Unlock the full card
Add your card and every fight on the event opens right away. The first 7 days cost nothing, and you can cancel anytime.
- Every fight on the card, main event through early prelims
- Likely winner, method and conviction level on each fight
- Upcoming cards come with the same access
Pick a plan. The first 7 days cost nothing.
Card now, first charge only when the 7 days end. Cancel anytime.
By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. See the Refund Policy.