Patricio Pitbull scheduled for March return after canceled PFL vs. Bellator bout

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull will be returning on March 22nd in Ireland.

The Brazilian has had a rough 12 months. Patricio Pitbull has been out of action since a knockout loss to Chihiro Suzuki at Super RIZIN 2 last July, the first knockout loss of his entire career. The defeat was the second in a row for the Bellator star, previously losing to Sergio Pettis that June down at bantamweight.

Patricio Pitbull was also one of the fighters who was publically a bit unhappy with the Bellator-PFL merger. The Scott Coker-led company was bought out late last year, and the Brazilian showed interest in heading to the UFC. However, Pitbull wasn’t released and instead signed a deal to fight this month.

Patricio Pitbull was set to face Jesus Pinedo at the PFL vs. Bellator card earlier this month. However, the featherweight champion’s opponent withdrew due to injury. As a result, Gabriel Alves Braga stepped up on short notice, but he too, pulled out on weigh-in day. Without an opponent, Pitbull was forced to withdraw from the event.

However, Patricio Pitbull has already signed a deal to return. At Bellator 302 in March, the Brazilian will return to defend his gold against Jeremy Kennedy. The promotion announced the title fight earlier today via a press release, along with a few other bouts.

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Featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull added to Bellator 302 in March

For Jeremy Kennedy, the fight with Patricio Pitbull will be the first title meaningful title fight of his career. ‘The Bandit’ famously signed with Bellator in 2020 and quickly found success. He enters the featherweight title bout riding a three-fight winning streak, last defeating Pedro Carvalho in February.

Prior to the bout, the Canadian picked up victories over the likes of Aaron Pico, and Emmanuel Sanchez. As far as Patricio Pitbull is concerned, this fight will be his first down at featherweight since October 2022. At Bellator 286, he scored a lopsided decision win over Adam Borics in his most recent title defense to date.

With the addition of Patricio Pitbull vs. Jeremy Kennedy, the Bellator 302 fight card reads:

• Featherweight World Title Bout: Patricio Pitbull vs. Jeremy Kennedy
• Middleweight No. 1 Contender Bout: Fabian Edwards vs. Aaron Jeffery
• Featherweight Main Card Bout: James Gallagher vs. Leandro Higo
• Lightweight Main Card Bout: Tim Wilde vs. Manoel Sousa
• Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: Ciaran Clarke vs. Darius Mafi
• Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Tofiq Musayev vs. Alfie Davis
• Middleweight Preliminary Bout: Steven Hill vs. Jordan Newman
• Light Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Luke Trainer vs. Grant Neal
• Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Nathan Kelly vs. Vikas Singh Ruhil
• Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Abraham Bably vs. Isaiah Pinson
• Amateur 130-Pound Catchweight Bout: Nate Kelly vs. Jordan Elliott

What do you make of this fight announcement involving Patricio Pitbull? Are you excited for Bellator 302 next month?