This morning we learned that Bellator‘s first event under the PFL banner will get an upgrade in the form of a featherweight title fight. The promotion announced that at the March 22nd event from Belfast, Patricio Pitbull (35-7) will defend his featherweight title against top contender Jeremy Kennedy (19-3).
Kennedy was supposed to take on Ireland’s James Gallagher but that fight has been scrapped. At this point, there’s no word whether or not Gallagher will remain on the card, but my assumption is that he will. Kennedy is getting this title shot on the heels of three straight wins.
The last time we saw Kennedy was just over a year ago at Bellator 291 when he defeated Pedro Carvalho by decision. Prior to that, he got a TKO win over Aaron Pico, granted the win was due to the shoulder injury that Pico suffered early in the fight. Kennedy has been wanting this shot and now he gets his chance at featherweight gold.
Bellator Belfast
It’s been a very wild 14 months for Patricio Pitbull. Back in December 2022, he defeated Kieber Koike Erbst in the Bellator – RIZIN card. After that win, the featherweight champion decided to drop down to 135 to try and become a three-division champion in the promotion. Having held the lightweight belt and being the current featherweight champion, Pitbull wanted to achieve history.
However, history wasn’t meant to be as he was dominated over the course of five rounds by Sergio Pettis. After that fight, he fought just about a month later when he stepped in on days’ notice against Chihiro Suzuki in July and he was knocked out in the first round.
Following his second straight loss, Pitbull took time and was supposed to return at the PFL – Bellator CHAMPS card this past weekend. However, PFL champ Jesus Pinedo had to pull out of the fight and then his replacement Gabriel Braga also had to pull out but he did so a day before the fight.
Having just gone through a training camp, Pitbull is itching to fight and that’s why he’s making the jump to Bellator Belfast to defend his title.