Patricky Pitbull unsure Bellator lightweight tournament will continue after PFL sale: “Losing $2 million”

Former Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull is just as unsure of the company’s future as anyone.

The Brazilian has been out of the cage since a knockout win over Roberto de Souza in July. That was a nice rebound win for Patricky Pitbull, having lost his lightweight gold to Usman Nurmagomedov in his prior outing. With the win at Bellator X RIZIN 2, he advanced to the lightweight Grand Prix semifinals.

Patricky Pitbull is currently scheduled to face Alexander Shabily at Bellator 301 later today. However, the event comes at a really strange time in the company’s history. As of now, the promotion is owned by Viacom, but they plan to get out of the combat sports business in 2024.

With that in mind, Bellator has been linked to a potential PFL sale for a few months now. According to reports, the deal is essentially done and just needs to be finalized. However, that’s far from confirmed, and that’s quite bad news for Patricky Pitbull. If he wins tonight, he will move to fight Brent Primus in the finals.

The former lightweight champion discussed the potential sale in an interview with MMA Fighting. There, Patricky Pitbull admitted that he’s unsure what the sale means for the ongoing lightweight tournament. However, with $1 million dollars on the line, he hopes that he doesn’t have to sue for it.

RELATED: USMAN NURMAGOMEDOV FAILS DRUG TEST, REMOVED FROM BELLATOR LIGHTWEIGHT GRAND PRIX

“I’m not sure as well [if the tournament will conclude], I don’t know much,” Patricky Pitbull stated on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. “When you buy a promotion and there’s one million on the line, from what I understand, each [finalist] can file a lawsuit if that fight doesn’t happen, so it would be $2 million instead of one [laughs]. It has to happen. I think it’s easier to make that fight instead of losing $2 million.” (h/t MMA Fighting)

He continued, “My numbers and my history in the organization make me comfortable about a change. Sure, we never know what’s coming on the other side, but I think I’ll be alright. … I’ve just renewed my contract in the middle of the GP but I don’t know what will happen after the GP. To me, it all depends on the GP.”

What do you make of these comments from Patricky Pitbull? Will you watch Bellator 301 later today?