Former Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull is taking intention at Aljamain Sterling forward of his UFC debut.
The 37-year-old hasn’t been seen within the cage for almost a yr. Final March, Patricio Pitbull made what could be his closing Bellator look, scoring a third-round knockout win over UFC veteran Jeremy Kennedy. Afterward, the Brazilian was famously stored on the sidelines. As a result of inactivity, Pitbull requested and was later granted his launch from the PFL.
The longtime face of Bellator finalized a deal to hitch Dana White and firm earlier this week. After almost 15 years because the face of the UFC’s foremost competitor, Patricio Pitbull determined to leap ship. In April, the previous three-time Bellator featherweight champion will face former interim featherweight titleholder, Yair Rodriguez.
Talking in a current interview with MMA Preventing, Patricio Pitbull mentioned his UFC debut. Within the interview, the previous Bellator star claimed that a number of different fighters rejected a proposal to face him. The Brazilian even named former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling as one of many names who “ran” from him.
RELATED: FORMER BELLATOR TITLE CHALLENGER AUSTIN VANDERFORD SIGNS WITH THE UFC, SET FOR SHORT-NOTICE DEBUT IN SEATTLE ON SATURDAY
.@PatricioPitbull claims Aljamain Sterling, others ‘ran’ from him earlier than Yair Rodriguez combat booked for UFC 314
(🎥 @guicruzzz) pic.twitter.com/1MnFnIttFk
— MMA Preventing (@MMAFighting) February 21, 2025
Patricio Pitbull takes intention at Aljamain Sterling forward of UFC 314 combat towards Yair Rodriguez
Within the interview, Patricio Pitbull additionally revealed that he accepted a short-notice supply to face Steve Garcia at UFC Seattle this weekend. Nonetheless, on account of visa points, the combat couldn’t be made. After a number of weeks of back-and-forth, Pitbull lastly signed a deal to face ‘El Pantera’ earlier this week.
“It was arduous as a result of they didn’t sound very excited at first.” Patricio Pitbull said to MMA Preventing. “There was a gathering with [my managers], one [UFC official] needed it, one other didn’t, and one tried to persuade the opposite. [My manager] stated ‘Brother, belief me, it’ll work out ultimately’. Impulsively, they requested if I’d combat [Aljamain] Sterling in March.”
He continued, “I stated, I’m in, however he ran. Then they provided me Yair Rodriguez, however he didn’t reply. I messaged him in personal… He stated it’d be very gratifying to welcome me to the promotion. However, when the UFC contacted, he turned it down, and requested for a ranked opponent. Within the meantime, they provided Steve Garcia… [But], I stored coaching with Yair Rodriguez in my thoughts, I had Yair Rodriguez in my thoughts.”
What do you make of those feedback from the UFC’s latest signing? Would you’ve gotten moderately seen Patricio Pitbull combat Yair Rodriguez or Aljamain Sterling?