Bellator 283: Tofiq Musayev Believes Potential Second Fight with Pitbull Will Be “More Exciting”

Lightweight standout and former RIZIN tournament champ Tofiq Musayev says his promotional debut at Bellator 283 went according to plan.

“If you watch my interview, that’s exactly how I planned it to be,” Musayev (20-4) said, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press shortly after his knockout of Sidney Outlaw. “So yeah, I was planning to end the fight with a knockout.”

With the win, it’s nearly a certainty that Musayev will jump the line at lightweight. Outlaw had been booked for a title fight at Bellator 283 in Tacoma, Washington, only to see champ Patricky Pitbull pull out. He then accepted the fight with Musayev, who holds a prior win over Pitbull under the RIZIN banner.

However unlikely, Musayev is hoping for not just a title shot, but a title shot at home. “I would love to fight with Pitbull back home in my home country, Azerbaijan,” he stated. “That would be awesome.”

Another standout lightweight put on a stellar performance Friday — Usman Nurmagomedov, who improved to 15-0 with a submission against Chris Gonzalez. On that front, Musayev has no plan to fight the Dagestani, a cousin of retired UFC champ Khabib.

“We have a good friendship with Usman, I respect him as a fighter, but he’s not on my plan, to fight him any time soon,” said Musayev. “My plan is just to fight Pitbull, and if Bellator can give me a chance to fight him back home in Azerbaijan, that would be awesome. And I saw in one of his [Pitbull’s] interviews, he wants a rematch, so that’s why I’m calling him out. So let’s do it.”

With over two years having passed since the pair’s first fight, how much has Tofiq Musayev evolved as a fighter? And has Patricky Pitbull grown as well? He told Cageside Press following his win on Friday that “of course after every training camp, you improve your technique, you feel better. You get more experience with every fight. So I just think it’s going to be a more exciting fight.”

Watch the full Bellator 283 post-fight press conference appearance from Tofiq Musayev above. More coverage from the event can be found below.