Patricio Pitbull is days away from his UFC debut.
This Saturday, the former two-division Bellator champion will step inside the Octagon for the first time, answering a question that fight fans have been asking themselves for years: can Pitbull hang with the best of the best? Squaring off with Pitbull at UFC 314 in Miami will be former interim featherweight titleholder Yair Rodriguez, who is desperately seeking a win to stay relevant in the division.
Breaking down the 37-year-old Brazilian’s chances of walking away with a win on Saturday night, Henry Cejudo shared his admiration for Pitbull and the impressive knockout power that he possesses.
“If there’s anybody that I ever try to emulate and really kind of take from and be mentored by, it is Patricio Pitbull,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “He doesn’t TKO people; he KOs people out cold—like knocks them the hell out! Patricio Pitbull has lights-out power—he knocked out Michael Chandler in a minute and six seconds with that beautiful overhand!
Something’s gotta give between Patricio Pitbull and yair Rodríguez
Between them, Rodriguez and Pitbull have 36 career finishes with more than half of them coming by way of knockout.
“Yair Rodriguez throws more but gets hit less because of his range and taekwondo background, while Pitbull’s takedown defense is an impressive 94%,” Cejudo added.
Pitbull goes into his Octagon debut having lost two of his last three, including back-to-back losses against Sergio Pettis and Chihiro Suzuki. He bounced back in March, besting Jamie Kennedy via a third-round TKO at the Bellator Champions Series 1 event in Belfast, Ireland. Overall, Pitbull is 36-7 in his career with an even split of 12 submissions and 12 knockouts.
