Miami — Former Bellator MMA double champ Patricio Pitbull will finally throw down with promotional rival Aaron Pico this Saturday.
Of course, with Bellator absorbed by the PFL and the promotion name mothballed, the fight is coming in the UFC, as part of UFC 327 in Miami. Still, better late than never.
“It’s a fight that was meant to happen in Bellator for a long time, but something would always happen whenever we thought it was going to happen. There was always an issue that would come up,” Pitbull (37-8) acknowledged during this week’s UFC 327 media day, speaking with outlets including Cageside Press. “That was the case in Japan, PFL was supposed to give us the fight too. So yeah, when I came into the UFC, that was a fight that I asked for.”
Pitbull has wanted the fight, has been calling for it ever since the pair arrived in the UFC. That didn’t change after Pico lost his own UFC debut against Lerone Murphy last summer. Pitbull has heard the talk of Pico changing his approach after that loss, and he’s ready for anything.
“I’m ready for whatever kind of Aaron Pico shows up in there. Maybe he’ll be more cautious because he got knocked out, maybe he’s going to go in there and just want to brawl. I’m prepared for whatever version.”
Pico has heard criticism of his supposed “glass jaw,” but has said Pitbull won’t be able to hit him. “I hope he trained a lot of defense, because he usually doesn’t defend sh*t,” the Brazilian said in response.
With a 1-1 record in the UFC and at 38 years old, there’s a question of where a win over the unranked Pico would put Patricio Pitbull. Once the most feared featherweight outside the UFC, he dropped an uninspiring decision to Yair Rodriguez in his debut, then turned around a won a decision over Dan Ige. Still, he feels getting his hand raised over Pico could be big.
“Aaron Pico came in and with one win over Murphy, he [would have been] pretty close to being in the mix for the title. So even though he’s not ranked, I do think this is a fight that is going to push me forward.”
Watch the full UFC 327 media day appearance by Aaron Pico above.
