Bellator champions Patricio Pitbull and Patchy Mix request release due to inactivity: “Let me go respectfully”

Bellator champions Patricio Pitbull and Patchy Mix have become the latest to request a release.

It’s been just over a year since Donn Davis and the PFL bought Bellator. When the deal was first announced, there was a lot of excitement among fighters, because of what they were told. PFL executives including Davis promised fighters the opportunity to compete in either the tournament format, or hop over to Bellator and fight in one-off events.

While 2024 got off to a hot start thanks to a new deal with HBO Max, there were quick issues. Early in the year, names such as Gegard Mousasi blasted Bellator and the PFL. The former middleweight champion went as far as to request his release due to a lack of fight offers, which was eventually granted. In the fall, Mousasi eventually filed a lawsuit against the promoter.

Over the last few weeks, several fighters have gone public in their frustration with Bellator and the PFL. Now, several active champions are speaking up as well. Earlier this week, Patchy Mix took to X, to request his release from the company. In the post, ‘War Ready’ pleaded with Donn Davis to let him go if he wasn’t going to be booked.

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My manager told me to hold off but haven’t heard anything from @PFLMMA @DonnDavisPFL If you are not gonna have me fight then just please release me from contract.This is not what I want but if I’m not important to the company being a multi time champ. Then let me go respectfully

— Patchy Mix (@TeamMixMMA) December 5, 2024

Bellator champions Patchy Mix and Patricio Pitbull call for PFL release

However, Patchy Mix wasn’t the only champion to call for his release. Earlier this week, Patricio Pitbull discussed his future in an interview with MMA Fighting. In the interview, the Bellator featherweight champion largely echoed the sentiment from Mix and several other PFL fighters.

“PFL guys seem a bit lost there.” Patricio Pitbull stated in the interview earlier this week. “Looks like Bellator is a bit too big for them, and they don’t know how to act properly. We were left with only promises, we lost rhythm, we lost part of our careers waiting for something that never came. It’s bad for me as a champion.”

He continued, “I need to stay active. We know I’m not getting any younger, too. So I spoke with my managers and since my contract is not that long, it’s close to the end, we’ll ask to leave. I need to work. I have to fight in the UFC.”

What do you make of these comments from the Bellator champions? Do you want to see Patchy Mix and Patricio Pitbull in the UFC?