This past Friday in the co-main event of Bellator Belfast, the featherweight title was on the line. Longtime champion and promotional great Patricio Pitbull (36-7) was looking to successfully defend his title against Jeremy Kennedy (19-4).
There is no questioning the greatness of Patricio Pitbull. However, the champion is getting older and entered this fight on a two-fight losing streak. There were a lot of justifiable questions being asked about him. He ended up being just a slight betting favorite which was crazy to think about just a couple of years ago.
When the fight started, Pitbull was doing a good job of landing big leg kicks on the taller Kennedy. He won the first round by just picking his shots and beating up the lead leg. However, in the second round, Kennedy really started to come on strong. He got some top position and he cut Pitbull open with shots on the feet.
His sharp jab and leg kicks were doing a lot of damage. Pitbull had moments, but round two was Kennedy’s round. It felt like all the momentum was switching to Kennedy and then out of no where, Pitbull rocked him in the third round. He unloaded a vicious combination and got the TKO win successfully defending his Bellator featherweight title.
What’s next after Bellator Belfast?
With this win, Pitbull got back on the winning path and he once again defended his title. Under this new Bellator Champions Series, the roster is in flux and it’s hard to tell what’s going to be next for Pitbull. That said, I think there are two very clear options if you ask me.
The first option and the most likely option is Aaron Pico. Pico was a super prospect who got off to a really rocky start in his professional career. However, he’s really rounding into form. After starting his career 4-3, Pico is now 9-1 in his last ten fights with the lone loss being an injury TKO when he injured his shoulder.
There’s no doubt in my mind, he should be next for the Bellator featherweight title. However, if they don’t go in that direction, I wouldn’t mind seeing Pitbull and 2023 PFL champ Jesus Pinedo. They were supposed to fight on the champions card but Pinedo got injured. If he can come back healthy, I think that would be a massive fight for the PFL and Bellator.