Patricio Pitbull takes aim at Aljamain Sterling for rejecting offer to fight him: “He ran!”

Former Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull is taking aim at Aljamain Sterling ahead of his UFC debut.

The 37-year-old hasn’t been seen in the cage for nearly a year. Last March, Patricio Pitbull made what would be his final Bellator appearance, scoring a third-round knockout win over UFC veteran Jeremy Kennedy. Afterward, the Brazilian was famously kept on the sidelines. Due to the inactivity, Pitbull requested and was later granted his release from the PFL.

The longtime face of Bellator finalized a deal to join Dana White and company earlier this week. After nearly 15 years as the face of the UFC’s main competitor, Patricio Pitbull decided to jump ship. In April, the former three-time Bellator featherweight champion will face former interim featherweight titleholder, Yair Rodriguez.

Speaking in a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Patricio Pitbull discussed his UFC debut. In the interview, the former Bellator star claimed that several other fighters rejected an offer to face him. The Brazilian even named former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling as one of the names who “ran” from him.

RELATED: FORMER BELLATOR TITLE CHALLENGER AUSTIN VANDERFORD SIGNS WITH THE UFC, SET FOR SHORT-NOTICE DEBUT IN SEATTLE ON SATURDAY

.@PatricioPitbull claims Aljamain Sterling, others ‘ran’ from him before Yair Rodriguez fight booked for UFC 314

(🎥 @guicruzzz) pic.twitter.com/1MnFnIttFk

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) February 21, 2025

Patricio Pitbull takes aim at Aljamain Sterling ahead of UFC 314 fight against Yair Rodriguez

In the interview, Patricio Pitbull also revealed that he accepted a short-notice offer to face Steve Garcia at UFC Seattle this weekend. However, due to visa issues, the fight couldn’t be made. After several weeks of back-and-forth, Pitbull finally signed a deal to face ‘El Pantera’ earlier this week.

“It was hard because they didn’t sound very excited at first.” Patricio Pitbull stated to MMA Fighting. “There was a meeting with [my managers], one [UFC official] wanted it, another didn’t, and one tried to convince the other. [My manager] said ‘Brother, trust me, it’ll work out in the end’. All of a sudden, they asked if I would fight [Aljamain] Sterling in March.”

He continued, “I said, I’m in, but he ran. Then they offered me Yair Rodriguez, but he didn’t respond. I messaged him in private… He said it’d be very gratifying to welcome me to the promotion. But, when the UFC contacted, he turned it down, and asked for a ranked opponent. In the meantime, they offered Steve Garcia… [But], I kept training with Yair Rodriguez in my mind, I had Yair Rodriguez in my mind.”

What do you make of these comments from the UFC’s newest signing? Would you have rather seen Patricio Pitbull fight Yair Rodriguez or Aljamain Sterling?