Last Wednesday (6), the MMA community was surprised by the decision to Patrick Pitbull de relinquish the Bellator lightweight (up to 70,3 kg) belt, leaving the title vacant so that his brother Patricky has the chance to win it in a rematch against Peter Queally on November 5th.
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In an exclusive interview with SUPER LUTAS, Patrício spoke about his decision and the reasons that led him to make it. According to the former champion, two factors weighed heavily on her giving up the lightweight title.
“The decision was 100% mine. Two things couldn't get out of my head. My brother has been working in this division for many years, he is the number one contender and if he kept winning he would have to fight for the title. Why not now? I fought for the title for revenge. I went there and knocked on Michael chandler, I knocked him out in the first round. I fought against the opponent, not for the belt. The other thing that was bothering me a lot was being the champion of the under-70 kg category having lost in the under-66 kg division. For me, it didn’t make any sense to continue with this belt in hand for these two reasons”, explained Patrício.
Asked if he believes that the defeat to AJ McKee in the featherweight division somehow invalidated his lightweight reign, Patrício denied it, but stated that, in his mind, it would not make sense to keep the title after having been defeated in the lower division.
“It doesn’t invalidate it, it’s more of a personal issue. I had the merit of knocking out the then champion Michael chandler, so the title belonged to me until today. I ended up losing in the featherweight category, where my reign lasted for many years. I hadn't had a defeat in five years. In my head, it doesn't make sense to be lightweight champion having lost at featherweight. I don’t know how to explain it, it’s something inside me”, replied Pitbull.
