This weekend at Bellator 285, the most decorated fighter in the promotion’s history will look to defend his featherweight title. Patricio Pitbull (33-5) takes on the dangerous Adam Borics (18-1) in the headliner this Saturday night.
Pitbull is on the heels of winning his title back against AJ McKee. McKee had stopped Pitbull in the first round of their first fight that took place in July of last year. They ran things back in April and this time, Pitbull was just a step ahead of McKee. He won a unanimous decision winning back his title.
With this latest win, Pitbull is now 8-1 in his last nine fights. Overall, he’s 21-5 in his career with Bellator. He’s the reigning featherweight champion and he was the lightweight champion before surrendering the title to allow his brother Patricky to have his chance at the gold.
Pitbull is not looking past his opponent on Saturday night, but this week, he did lay out his future plans. In speaking with MMA Fighting, Pitbull stated that he wants to win Saturday night before defending the featherweight title one more time.
Bellator’s Plan
Pitbull is already eyeing his next title defense at 145 pounds. He believes that if he beats Borics on Saturday night, Aaron Pico is the guy who should be next for his title. By all indications, that is the plan for Bellator.
Should Pitbull get through Borics and Pico, he’s planning on dropping to bantamweight. Currently, there’s a Grand Prix going on in the bantamweight division. In December, we will see the semifinals of that Grand Prix. Likely, the spring will bring the finals.
Once the finals are concluded, current champion Sergio Pettis is expected to return and face the winner of the Grand Prix who will also be the interim bantamweight champion. I would expect that fight to take place in the summer. With that timeline, Pitbull would likely challenge the bantamweight champion in the fall.
Pitbull’s goal is to become the first man in Bellator to win a championship in three weight classes. Have to think that if he gets through his next two fights, he’ll be a massive favorite regardless of who he fights at 135 pounds.