Not to make light of the situation — pun fully intended — but you’d have to imagine Sergio Pettis’ weight cut these days is much, much more comfortable than his flyweight run.
Pettis (23-5) is now the reigning Bellator MMA bantamweight champion, who made a successful return from ACL surgery this past June to defend his title against double-champ Patricio Pitbull.
And yes, the weight cut to 135 is “way more comfortable man,” Pettis told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview during Bellator 301’s Fight Week. “Honestly, thank God for those flyweight cuts, because it taught me how to be strict and how to really be disciplined. So 35 is, definitely compared to the 25, 35 is a dream come true. 25 was a nightmare.”
There’s a lot going right with Sergio Pettis these days. His Pitbull win is one he considers “one of my best performances,” especially given the circumstance of returning from major surgery. The Milwaukee native is also getting married in March. Then there’s finally having emerged from under the shadow of WEC and UFC champ Anthony Pettis, his older brother.
“I’m comfortable with myself finally. For a bit I was not comfortable with myself. I had a big shadow over me, being Anthony Pettis’ younger brother. So that was playing with my head a little bit,” admitted the younger Pettis brother. “Once I took those two back-to-back losses, that really changed me. It made me realize how much I truly love this sport. And I don’t want to feel that feeling again, so I made sure I didn’t.”
Those back-to-back losses came against Jussier Formiga and Rob Font, in his UFC days. But Pettis exited the promotion off a win, and hasn’t looked back, now running his win streak up to six straight.
As far as having Anthony as an older brother, it was something of a double-edged sword it seems. But helping his brother prep for bouts allowed Sergio to find his own path in MMA.
“Just going back to me as a young man, I wasn’t the most confident guy. Even when I started fighting, I didn’t know if I was going to be a fighter,” he explained. “I always thought ‘I might go to college, I might do something different.’ And I kind of just fell into this lifestyle, and I started liking it. I started really liking preparing for fights.” Pettis enjoyed helping his brother prepare for bouts, but wasn’t sure if he’d be great himself. “I just got to a point where I was like ‘I’m ready to be great. Why not me? I’m capable of doing this as well.'”
Pettis added that he’s in it for the long haul, when asked if the plan is to see just how great he can be. “I feel like I want to take this to levels I didn’t even think I could take it to.” Among his goals is to go 12-0 on his current run, and he’s halfway there. “I just signed another six-fight contract with them [Bellator], so this is my goal, to go 12-0. Get to 29-5.”
At Bellator 301 in Chicago this Friday, Pettis is paired up with interim champ Patchy Mix, who won the bantamweight grand prix that Sergio Pettis himself was forced to withdraw from. The Bellator bantamweight champ admits he was cheering for pal Raufeon Stots in the tournament, but “I wasn’t overlooking Patchy at all. He’s a great athlete, great jiu-jitsu artist. He’s able to put people in positions, hold them there, and not only that now he’s knocking guys out.”
Pettis admits he’s grappled a little more this training camp, but noted that “everybody who fights me ends up trying to take me down, or end up trying to hold me or take me back. So nothing’s really too different.”
Of course the elephant in the room of late is the future of Bellator MMA. Rumors have the promotion being sold to rival PFL, but nothing has been officially announced. Pettis has been in this spot before however. “I’m able to really tune that out. I’ve been in this situation before as a younger man. I was fighting for a title shot in the UFC against Jussier Formiga. About like two or three days before the fight, I heard they were getting rid of the flyweight division. And it really f*cked with my head.”
Pettis questioned why he was even fighting for a title shot that wasn’t going to come. “I went into that fight, ended up losing. So I’m not going to make the same mistake. I’m going to focus on what I need to focus on, and that’s Patchy Mix.”
Watch our full interview with Bellator MMA bantamweight champ Sergio Pettis above. The event takes place this Friday, November 17, 2023 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL.
