Can Patricio Pitbull get the job carried out in his UFC debut?
After notching 30 fights below the Bellator MMA banner and capturing a number of world titles with the promotion, Pitbull will make his long-awaited Octagon debut this Saturday evening at UFC 314 in Miami. There, the previous two-division titleholder will meet ex-interim champ Yair Rodriguez in a combat that would produce the subsequent featherweight title challenger.
As thrilling as it’s to lastly see Pitbull make the stroll to the Octagon, the very fact stays that he’s a couple of brief months away from turning 38 years, leaving many, together with former middleweight king Michael Bisping, to wonder if or not Pitbull can nonetheless compete among the many greatest combined martial artists on the planet.
“Can the previous man get it carried out? Patricio Pitbull, 37 years previous coming over from Bellator, the place I believe he was a four-time champion,” Bisping mentioned on his YouTube channel. “Greatest win most likely (was) when he knocked out ‘Iron’ Mike Chandler within the very first spherical, vicious proper hand. He’s obtained good jiu-jitsu, however he’s 37 years previous. There’s numerous put on and tear, there’s numerous miles on the clock, and that’s not shocking if you take a look at the quantity of expertise.
“Forty-three skilled fights, 36 wins, seven losses, however he has been knocked out twice. Nevertheless, if you’ve fought that many instances, there’s no drawback with that. In fact, he’ll be taking up the one and solely Yair Rodriguez, one in all Mexico’s most interesting. This man is to not be underestimated. He fought for the belt earlier than towards Alexander Volkanovski, didn’t go his manner, obtained stopped within the third spherical, after which he obtained stopped once more towards Brian Ortega. He’s making an attempt to show is he nonetheless related within the division” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Might Patricio Pitbull bounce to the entrance of the road with a win at UFC 314?
With Ilia Topuria’s sudden departure from the division and no clear contender for the winner of Saturday’s featherweight title tilt between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes, ‘The Rely’ believes that the winner of Pitbull vs. Rodriguez may produce the rising champion’s subsequent challenger.
“Are both of those guys going to be the subsequent man to combat for the featherweight strap as a result of guess what? That’s what’s at stake right here,” Bisping continued. “One in every of these guys is likely to be the subsequent particular person to combat for the belt as a result of Volkanovski desires to be lively — that’s if he will get the job carried out.”
Pitbull goes into his promotional premiere having gone 1-2 in his final three outings, together with back-to-back losses towards Sergio Pettis and Chihiro Suzuki. Pitbull obtained again into the win column in March through a third-round TKO over Jeremy Kennedy at Bellator Champions Sequence 1 in Belfast.
