Patricio Pitbull claims Aljamain Sterling ‘Ran’ from UFC 314 debut fight with him
Booked for his Octagon debut — amid months of speculation, Patricio Pitbull has claimed his initial landing at UFC 314 in April was expected to come against former bantamweight kingpin, Aljamain Sterling, who he claims “ran” from the matchup.
Pitbull, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight champion during his decorated stint with Bellator MMA, is set to make a main card debut at UFC 314 against former interim titleholder, Yair Rodriguez — making good on a long anticipated move to the Octagon.
Sidelined since featuring in the main event of Bellator Champions Series 1 last March, Brazilian veteran, Pitbull had turned in the final defense of his long featherweight reign, stopping Jeremy Kennedy with an eventual third round knockout in Belfast.
Patricio Pitbull claims Aljamain Sterling “ran” from UFC 314 debut fight
And set to take on Mexican striker, Rodriguez in his debut outing in Miami, Pitbull has claimed former undisputed bantamweight kingpin, Sterling was first approached regarding a pairing — before accusing him of “running” from the pairing.
“All of a sudden they [the UFC] asked if I would fight [Aljamain] Sterling in March, I said I’m in, but he ran,” Patricio Pitbull said during a recent interview with MMA Fighting. “Then they offered me Yair Rodriguez, but he didn’t respond. I messaged him in private. ‘What’s up brother? Where’s your Mexican pride?’…he said it’d be very gratifying to welcome me to the organization.
“But when the UFC contacted, he turned it down and asked for a ranked opponent…let’s see if he’ll stay on the fight or ‘get injured’,” Patricio Pitbull.
For Rodriguez, the Chihuahua challenger is tasked with snapping a two-fight losing skid since landing the interim featherweight championship, suffering back-to-back losses to Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega, via knockout and submission defeats, respectively.
