Patricio Pitbull will be rooting for Michael Chandler to have success in the UFC.
Pitbull and Chandler had their highly-anticipated bout in May of 2019 with the Brazilian scoring a first-round TKO win in just 61 seconds. Although they had a heated rivalry, Pitbull actually believes Chandler will become the UFC champion.
“I already predicted that he would start that way,” Pitbull told MMA Junkie in Portuguese through a translator on Thursday. “I think he beats every one of the top guys in the UFC. He has very powerful hands. His striking is getting better, and he’s a super wrestler for MMA. I believe he can be the champion.”
Although many fighters in Bellator are never considered the best to casual fans, Pitbull believes the better Chandler does will only raise his stock. He has the head-to-head win and if “Iron” becomes the lightweight champ, Pitbull believes that helps his legacy and raises his stock.
“I’ve been saying this in all my interviews recently,” Freire said. “This has been a good thing for me. Even if he doesn’t want it to be this way, the more that he wins, the more that me destroying him will look great. I’ve been pretty vocal about it.
“He spent three years talking after he beat my brother on social media, so I’ll be doing this forever. There are some fans that complain and talk trash to me. Others think that’s fine and they like it. But I don’t really give a damn, I just care about what I have the desire to do, and I’ll keep doing it. … As my official representative in the UFC right now, everything he does well will look good for me.”
Patricio Pitbull is set to defend his featherweight belt against Emmanuel Sanchez sometime in the near future. It also serves as the semifinal of the featherweight Grand Prix.
