Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire calls out Mark Madsen for alleged negligence as MMA promoter

UFC bantamweight Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire has fought in two of the most high-profile MMA promotions of the modern era. So, it stands to reason that he is beside himself seeing the apparent string of fouls taking place at Airtox Dominance FC.

Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire calls out Mark Madsen

Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire has no tolerance for cheating, regardless of whether it involves him. Reports are abound that Airtox Dominance FC, a Danish MMA promotion that originally went by Dominance Fighting Championship and was founded by former UFC lightweight Mark Madsen, featured a bout rife with cheating. This drew Freire's attention, who took to social media to criticize Madsen for allegedly allowing fouls to be committed without consequences.

"@MarkTheOlympian do the right thing here! How do you allow all the fouls, back of the head shots, eye poke, attack during the time out, and you give Askhabov the win? This is nott something a legit promoter would allow!"

The controversy stems from Khusein Askhabov's recent first-round TKO win over Reinaldo Ekson at Airtox Dominance FC 8. Their lightweight bout was derailed by fouls, with Askhabov accused of deliberately eye poking Ekson and attacking him during the subsequent time out, among other things. Later back of the head shots rendered Ekson unable to continue. Yet, instead of a disqualification or, at least, a no-contest, Askhabov was given a win via doctor stoppage, which enraged 'Pitbull,' who took to calling out Madsen, though he has yet to receive a response.

At one point, Madsen was a bright prospect in the UFC lightweight division, going undefeated for most of his career. That changed when, at 12-0, he faced Grant Dawson at UFC Vegas 64. Despite starting well by knocking Dawson down with a right hand, he was quickly outscrambled in the ensuing chaos and controlled on the mat. Afterward, he was taken down and outgrappled in every round until Dawson sank in a rear-naked choke in round three. A year later, he was TKO'd by Jared Gordon in round one at UFC 295. Finding himself on a two-fight losing streak, Madsen opted to retire and became an MMA promoter. 

'Pitbull' by contrast, is among the greatest Bellator fighters of all time, but has struggled for form in the UFC, where he is 2-2, with unanimous decision losses to Yair Rodriguez and Aaron Pico at UFC 314 and UFC 327 respectively. His wins have come against Dan Ige, via unanimous decision at UFC 318, and Choi Doo-ho, who he TKO'd in round one at UFC 331, and has now been eyeing Jean Silva.