Patricio Pitbull explains how Bellator sale to PFL could lead him to UFC

05/10/2023 16:00

Patricio Pitbull has always been very loyal to Bellator.

Yet after competing exclusively under the company banner since 2010, the featherweight champion might explore the market if the promotion gets sold in the near future to rival Professional Fighters League.

PFL and Bellator remain in negotiations on a potential acquisition, and Pitbull believes a deal is imminent. If that indeed happens, Pitbull said he's open to completing his current contract and engaging in negotiations with the UFC.

"I'm 36 years old and hold so many records in the organization I love," Pitbull said MMA Fighting's Trocação Franca podcast. "It really looks like Bellator will get bought by another organization. I'll complete my deal and see which offer we have on the table, but I think my career deserves a move to the UFC, especially knowing that if I leave as the Bellator and PFL champion we would be close to doing a big fight right off the bat in this organization."

Pitbull did not disclose how many bouts he has left in his current contract with Bellator, but said "it's not very lengthy," and "it's close to the end."

"I don't rule it out," Pitbull said of going to the UFC. "I see it with good eyes. I think this is the moment. It's the only moment. If it takes too long I'll get old and my performance begins to drop."

UFC CEO Dana White recently laughed at the idea of Bellator being bought at a $500 million valuation, and Pitbull said he understand a businessman attempting to devalue its competitors.

"I think that either Bellator or PFL, I'm comfortable in my position," Pitbull said. "If there's not enough time to defend my title in Bellator, I think a clash between champions is necessary, going back to my original desire to face champions from other organizations.

"I wouldn't like to say goodbye to Bellator like this, but I understand the moment. It's two billion-dollar organizations negotiating. It's not a rumor, it's true, there's negotiations going on. An inferior promotion is trying to buy Bellator, and I think it's close to a done deal."

If Pitbull indeed ends up in the UFC in the future, he expects Alexander Volkanovski to still be at the top of the featherweight class.

"A fight is a fight, we saw me being dominant for so long, and all of a sudden there's a loss. It happens, you can lose for many reasons, but I don't see anyone stopping him at the moment," he said. "I believe he'll keep [the title], and that would be a great fight. We have similar age and height, we're both short. I'm more experienced but he has vast experience defending his title there. He's dominating. It would be an honor to fight him."

The current Bellator featherweight king and a former lightweight titleholder, Pitbull holds many records in the company, including most championship victories, and he holds wins over the likes of A.J. McKee, Michael Chandler, Kleber Koike, Emmanuel Sanchez, Juan Archuleta, Daniel Straus and Wilson Reis.

If Pitbull doesn't get another chance inside the circular cage before a sale to the PFL, he would enter his new home on a two-fight skid, the result of a failed bantamweight title shot against champ Sergio Pettis and a stoppage loss to Chihiro Suzuki in RIZIN.

Pitbull in August underwent surgery for herniated discs, an injury that could have left him tetraplegic. The Brazilian veteran said the injury affected his nerves, which caused his right leg to go numb after getting hit in both fights with Pettis and Suzuki. He was aware of an injury going into the fight in Japan, but he agreed to the bout on days' notice regardless.

"Every fighter goes through moments of injury and defeat, and it was my turn now," he said. "I called my doctor right after the fight, because I saw no reasons for me to get dropped like that. I got hit and lost the right leg. I wasn't dizzy, my leg just failed, and there was time to get it back. I rewatched the fight and kept thinking, the way I felt was like a heavyweight at the end of his career. I was like, f***, my hand was high, and I still felt that punch and lost my leg? This is not right. But I had forgot that I was injured."

Pitbull added: "I won't say that's an excuse for why I lost, but I think that's one of the reasons that led to those losses. One fight was [at bantamweight] and the other was [at 154-pound catchweight], and I was injured in both, a very serious injury. I could end up tetraplegic and never fight again, but that was fixed already. Life goes on. I'm good to fight more fights. I'm in full recovery and feel great."