Sergio Pettis, Bellator Bantamweight Champion, doesn’t want the news of his promotion company being acquired by others to distract him from winning his upcoming Bantamweight Title Unification against Interim Champ Patchy Mix.
We’ve been hearing reports about Bellator being available for purchase for years. Now, it seems things are nearing the final phase, with PFL reportedly the company that would acquire it. This leaves the fighters of the MMA promotion company uncertain of their future. That includes Pettis, who will be fighting at Bellator 301 this week. Nonetheless, the fighter is certain he won’t allow this concern to get into him in his fight against Mix.
In his recent interview with The New York Post, the fighter shared how he made the mistake during the early days of his career at UFC, leading to his loss to a certain fight.
“They were talking about getting rid of the division, and around that time, I was fighting Jussier Formiga, and I was very close to a title shot,” Pettis recalls. “I was like, ‘Damn, all this hard work for no reason. They’re about to get rid of the division.’ And I went into that fight, and I lost that fight.
“Mentally, I’m not gonna make that mistake this time. I’m not really sure what’s going on with Bellator, any of that. At this point, I really don’t care. I know I’m their champion, and I plan on being the champion until it’s all said and done.”
The bout will be a huge gamble for Pettis, who will be putting his belt on the line. Both Mix and Pettis have impressive winning streaks in their recent records, but Mix could be a dangerous opponent for Pettis, with the former winning one of the five fights via KO and the other three via submission. Despite this, the bantamweight champ is determined to take down the opponent with what he has.
“I like to keep the fight standing,” Pettis shared. “I’m a very defensive wrestler, defensive jiu-jitsu. I have some tricks up my sleeve. I do have offensive jiu-jitsu as well. But my bread and butter is keeping it on the feet.”
