Patricio Pitbull is one of the more intriguing additions to the UFC roster in recent memory, but the former two-division Bellator MMA champion had a difficult time locking down an opponent for his official Octagon debut.
Earlier this week, UFC CEO, Dana White, made some major announcements for 2025. This included a fight between Pitbull and former UFC featherweight title challenger, Yair Rodriguez, at UFC 314 on April 12 in Miami, Florida. It’s an incredible matchup for fight fans and a huge change for Pitbull to crack the division’s top 10 rankings on arrival, but it’s a pairing that took longer to finalize than expected.
Pitbull, who turns 38 this summer, has been in talks with UFC for his official debut since cutting ties with Bellator MMA (and PFL) this past January. White wasn’t completely sure a deal would get done, but when it did the promotion immediately tried getting Pitbull an opponent. This included former UFC bantamweight champion and current featherweight contender, Aljamain Sterling, who promptly turned the matchup down.
“It was hard because they didn’t sound very excited at first,” Pitbull told MMA Fighting. “There was a meeting with [Jorge Guimarães] ‘Joinha’ and Ed [Soares] and the UFC. One [UFC person] wanted it, another didn’t, and one tried to convince the other. ‘Joinha’ said to me, ‘Brother, trust me, it will work out in the end.’ And out of a sudden they asked if I would fight Aljamain Sterling in March. I said I’m in, but he ran. He said he needed more time to fight, that he would only be able to fight in April.
“Then they offered me Yair Rodriguez, but he didn’t respond. I messaged him in private. ‘What’s up brother, will you fight or not? Where’s your Mexican pride?’ Teased him a little bit. He said it would be very gratifying to welcome me to the organization. But when the UFC contacted him, he turned it down and asked for a ranked opponent.
“Cool, UFC gave him Arnold Allen. I told ‘Joinha’ to stay on it because Arnold Allen would pull out from this fight. He would probably get injured. We know that when someone takes a fight on such short notice, and he doesn’t have a complete camp, most guys avoid that. And in order to avoid saying no to the UFC, they take it and then ‘get hurt.’ ‘Joinha’ texted [the UFC] and said I would be ready.”
Luckily, UFC officials were able to get a deal done for Rodriguez to welcome Pitbull to the Octagon. Pitbull was told White was going to make the announcement for UFC 314 this week and Rodriguez “would have to take it.” We’re not sure of the validity of that statement, but at least we know Pitbull has a dance partner for his UFC debut this April in Miami.
“I kept training with Yair Rodriguez in mind,” Pitbull said. “They said Dana White was going to announce the fight last night and then [Rodriguez] would have to take it. And that’s what happened. Let’s see if he’ll stay on the fight or get injured [laughs].”
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
