Patricio Pitbull has never been shy when it comes to speaking his mind. So it should come as no surprise the former Bellator champion is doing more of the same as he prepares for his UFC debut.
Pitbull was signed by the promotion to take on Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314 in April from Miami. However, he told MMA Fighting recently that was not the original bout planned.
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“It was hard because they didn’t sound very excited at first,” Pitbull said. “There was a meeting with (Jorge Guimaraes) and Ed (Soares) and the UFC. (The UFC) wanted it, another didn’t, and one tried to convince the other. (Guimaraes) said to me, ‘Brother, trust me, it will work out in the end.’
“And all of a sudden they asked if I would fight Aljamain Sterling in March. I said I’m in, but he ran. He said he needed more time to fight, that he would only be able to fight in April.”
Patricio Pitbull Works As Matchmaker For UFC, Yair Rodriguez Bout
From that point on, the promotion shifted to Rodriguez. However, it wasn’t UFC officials who got Rodriguez on board, it was Pitbull himself.
“He didn’t respond (to the UFC),” Pitbull said. “I messaged him in private. ‘What’s up brother, will you fight or not? Where’s your Mexican pride.’ Teased him a little bit.”
The sides continued to work towards putting a fight together. Rodriguez was offered Arnold Allen, according to Pitbull, who was offered as a short-notice opponent for Steve Garcia. Those bouts didn’t come to fruition, and eventually, we were given Pitbull vs. Rodriguez.
“I kept training with Yair in mind,” he said. “They said Dana White was going to announce the fight and (Rodriguez) would have to take it. That’s what happened. Let’s see if he’ll stay on the fight or get injured.”
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