Bryan Battle’s opponent for Friday night’s Dirty Boxing event has been revealed.
A little over a week after being released by the UFC, the promotion announced Monday that Battle faces Derik de Freitas in a middleweight contest at DBX 3, which takes place at The Hangar just outside of Miami.
Battle was given his walking papers by the UFC after missing weight for the second consecutive time ahead of his scheduled UFC 319 middleweight bout with Nursulton Ruziboev, which ultimately was cancelled from the lineup. Prior to that, Battle missed weight for his welterweight fight with Randy Brown at UFC 309 this past November. That bout went forward with Battle winning a close split decision. “The Butcher,” a former winner of The Ultimate Fighter, exited the promotion with a 7-1, 1 NC record.
De Freitas makes his Dirty Boxing debut with a 3-9 pro MMA record. The Brazilian fighter has been finished in two straight bouts, and in seven of his past eight. The 34-year-old seeks his first victory since a 31 second submission win at Avalanche FC in November 2023.
DBX 3 is headlined by an inaugural heavyweight title fight between ex-UFC fighter Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Rakim Cleveland.
