by Patricio Pitbull is fed up with the treatment in the PFL.
It wasn’t the year many in the PFL were hoping for after the promotion acquired Bellator in late 2023. The PFL entered 2024 with a larger and more talented roster than ever before and seemingly with a host of new, exciting fixtures on the horizon. But unfortunately for Pitbull, the reigning multiple-time Bellator featherweight world champion was one of many high-profile fighters to fall victim to the recent impasse between the promotional organizations following a series of unexplained event cancellations of late.
“The last straw was them canceling my fight,” Pitbull said on “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Monday. “They made me wait until December 31st and told me a few weeks in advance that my flight was canceled. I actually found out about the change of opponents online and then they said there would be no event.”
“Things kept piling up and I just said enough is enough.”
The 37-year-old Pitbull has fought once under the PFL umbrella in 2024, defending his 145-pound title with a third-round knockout of Jeremy Kennedy in March.
Widely considered one of the greatest Bellator fighters of all time, Pitbull is expected to return for a Bellator Japan show on New Year’s Eve. There has been discussion about the possibility of a champion vs. champion rematch against RIZIN featherweight titleholder Chihiro Suzuki. When the two meet in 2023, Suzuki pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent MMA history when he knocked out Pitbull in the first round.
Instead, Suzuki will defend his title in another rematch – against former RIZIN champion Kleber Koike – on the same day at RIZIN 49. Original talks for Pitbull vs. Suzuki 2 included Pitbull’s brother Patricky Pitbull fighting Koike and taking care of the evening a possible family affair.
Then perennial Bellator featherweight contender Aaron Pico came into the picture and seemed like a likely option for a Bellator event that was ultimately canceled.
Pitbull still doesn’t have an answer as to why the shows failed.
“I asked them to fight in the middle of the year, but everyone was booked,” Pitbull said of PFL. “So I asked to fight Pico in September and they said I had to choose to fight either Pico in September or Chihiro in December. I wanted to take part in both fights. Since I have a history with Chihiro.” “I chose to fight him first, if it were up to me I would have had both of those fights this year.”
Pitbull may have been the loudest voice on the Bellator roster speaking out against what’s happening in the PFL, but he’s not the only one. Several current Bellator champions, such as bantamweight Patchy Mix and middleweight Johnny Eblen, have also expressed their frustration.
Heading into 2025, several signs from PFL indicate that the Bellator brand will soon be no more. The PFL’s Road to Dubai Champions Series event on January 25 is headlined by a Bellator lightweight title fight between champion Usman Nurmagomedov and challenger Paul Hughes. However, Bellator’s only mention on the card was the title itself.
Pitbull said he had already been told there was “no chance” of running on that Jan. 25 date and he didn’t know why. All he knows is that the company he helped bring to MMA fame is long gone.
“The Bellator I helped build no longer exists,” Pitbull said. “They even look like they changed the name. It’s now called Road to Dubai, so everything is very different than it used to be. The story I wrote in Bellator was beautiful, but it’s a cycle that has come to an end. This is it.” not the same place anymore.
“Things don’t work the way they used to and I think we just have to go our separate ways. No strings attached.”
“I really feel [head of Bellator fight operations Mike Kogan] would like to help us, but that is not possible at the moment,” he concluded.
In Pitbull’s 43-fight career, all but 13 of his fights have taken place in a Bellator-branded cage, dating back to his promotional debut in April 2010. He has won the featherweight title three times, the lightweight title once, and nine title defenses in total , most Bellator wins (23), most Bellator featherweight wins (22), most Bellator title fight wins (13), most Bellator fights (29), most Bellator title fights (17), most Bellator finishes (14), and so on.
There’s nothing left in Bellator that Pitbull hasn’t done, so moving on isn’t a problem for him – and it’s what he wants.
Pitbull said he still has one fight left on his Bellator contract, but that it expires in four or five months. The PFL didn’t offer him a spot in their annual seasonal tournament and he wouldn’t be interested anyway.
Pitbull’s only goal now is to break away and join the UFC.
“I wish we would just shake hands and go our separate ways,” Pitbull said. “I’m not waiting for anything legal. I just go there, talk and come ready to go. Even if they give me part of the promotion, no matter what money they give me, I’m not interested. I just want it.’ Go ahead and fight these other guys. I’ve already told them I’m not interested even if they let my contract expire and make a lot more money.
“I’m not very young anymore, so time is of the essence. The longer I go without a fight, the more I lose rhythm, and it’s important for me to be active now. I wish we could basically just shake hands and go separate things now.
“For me now it’s about legacy,” he concluded. “I want to fight in the UFC.”
