Tomorrow night in the co-main event of Bellator 297, we are going to see a superfight for the bantamweight title. Bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis (22-5) is making his return after tearing his ACL as he takes on current featherweight champion and former lightweight champion Patricio Pitbull (35-5).
Pettis was originally supposed to take on Raufeon Stots to kickoff the Bantamweight Grand Prix. However, Pettis injured his knee in training and was forced out of the bout. The Grand Prix proceeded with Patchy Mix winning the Grand Prix by knocking out Stots with a flying knee.
Mix is the current interim champion and is waiting the results of tomorrow night’s co-main event. Pettis won the title by defeating Juan Archuleta by unanimous decision. In his first title defense, he knocked out Kyoji Horiguchi with a spinning backfist in the fourth round.
Patricio Pitbull is already the most decorated fighter in Bellator history and tomorrow night, he’s chasing more history. Pitbull is moving down to 135 trying to become the first man to win a world championship in three different weight classes.
Pitbull is 10-1 in his last eleven fights with the lone loss coming against AJ McKee. He rematched McKee and was able to win a decision avenging that loss and reclaiming his Bellator featherweight title.
Bellator 297 Prediction
Sergio Pettis is a massive betting underdog and for good reason entering tomorrow night. Patricio Pitbull is the bigger man making his debut in the bantamweight division. He’s dangerous, powerful, and considered to be one of the most skilled fighters in the world let alone Bellator.
Pettis was getting dominated by Horiguchi in their fight before landing that spinning backfist. So, does he have a chance? He does have a chance, but in my opinion, I think it’s a slim one. His path to victory is going to be using kicks and point fighting.
He’s not going to win a power battle against Pitbull. He also doesn’t want to grapple with Pitbull who is going to be much stronger and will likely control Pettis on the ground. He also doesn’t want to stay in boxing range with Pitbull.
If he can keep things standing and stay on the outside, he can point fight his way to a successful title defense. However, any other place in this fight and I think he’s in trouble. Considering how easy Pitbull made 135, I think he’s well on his way to making Bellator history tomorrow night.
I think he overwhelms Pettis in this fight. Pettis is tough enough to survive the first, but I see Pitbull getting a second round stoppage in this one.
Prediction: Patricio Pitbull by TKO – Round 2