Geraldo de Freitas was supposed to make his return to the octagon this weekend at UFC London before COVID-19 reared it’s ugly head and canceled the entire card. He is coming off of a super close fight that he lost at UFC Uruguay to Chris Gutierrez.
NOTE: This interview was before the card was canceled, sadly. But Geraldo and fans deserve this interview to help get away from the recent stress of life under quarantine.
We’ve interviewed de Freitas before, ahead of his fight with Gutierrez. In that interview, we talked his MMA beginnings, his Brazilian heritage and more. Click here to read that interview!
Learning From Pitfalls
As mentioned earlier, that fight with Gutierrez was incredibly close. Ending in a split decision in Gutierrez’ way, Geraldo de Freitas thought he did enough to win that fight.
“If I were a side referee that night, I would also have won the victory for me,” says de Freitas. But he is not dwelling on that fight. De Freitas is trying to improve and become a better martial artist. “I tried to learn and understood that I could have done much better that night. I watched my last fight many times to try to understand where I went wrong and I could see that I made mistakes. Now I am taking away, learning, and looking ahead.”
Geraldo de Freitas realizes something was amiss in his last camp. He has been there before, he says. “I realized that something inside of me was not going well in my last camp. This time it will be different. In my professional life it has happened before. I needed to go through certain situations to overcome myself and come back better and this time it will be like this. I’m hungry for victory!”
Geraldo de Freitas Versus Jack Shore
Geraldo de Freitas was scheduled to face Jack Shore at UFC London before the entire card was canceled. That bout is not yet rebooked.
“He is a difficult opponent but that does not change what has always happened in my career. I have always fight against difficult opponents and he is the next step. I need to and I will win! His game plan is very clear, let’s cancel it by executing my game plan!”
De Freitas was completely ready to go to war on enemy soil. He thrives behind enemy territory and looks to get that win.
“I love to fight like that,” says de Freitas. “I will be victorious on English soil. I will have my arm raised at the end of this fight.”
UFC Norfolk Drama
UFC Norfolk has a drama ridden main event. Deiveson Figueiredo missed weight in a battle for the vacant strap with Joseph Benavidez. While de Freitas believes that was not good for Figueiredo to miss weight, he says the outcome is decided and fans and the UFC needs to move towards the next step.
“In my opinion it was not cool for Figueiredo not to hit the weight, however, everything that happened and he won. It brought a lot of attention and this is good for the UFC. I think if the UFC does a rematch it will bring even more attention and a lot of people will want to watch, like me for example.”
Predicting UFC 249
UFC 249 is slowly approaching and the main event is all the MMA world can talk about. With lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov taking on Tony Ferguson, the entire community has their input on how the fight happens. Here is what Geraldo de Freitas thinks will happen:
“I believe that Khabib will come out victorious with submission.”
Whether or not de Freitas and Shore fight or the two are booked for different opponents remains to be seen. That said, Geraldo de Freitas will continue to improve and come out to put on a show for fans.
Be sure to follow Geraldo de Freitas on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to keep up with his fight journey.
