The UFC’s return to Miami on April 12 was a huge night for the featherweight division with some highly significant matchups.
At the very top of the card, Alexander Volkanovski defeated Diego Lopes in the main event to kickstart his second reign as the 145-pound champion after claiming the vacant belt.
Two dangerous strikers collided earlier on in the night as Patricio Pitbull made his highly anticipated UFC debut in a bid to shake up the division.
Though several other Brazilian stars like Jean Silva produced highlight reel performances on Saturday night, the same couldn’t be said for the former Bellator star.
Pitbull was beaten in convincing fashion by Yair Rodriguez who looked back to his best with his first win in two years following back-to-back defeats.
Patricio Pitbull reflects on decisive loss in his Octagon debut at UFC 314
Patricio Pitbull will always be known as one of the most successful fighters to have made his name outside of the UFC after what he was able to accomplish in Bellator.
However, even with that in mind, many expected that Yair Rodriguez would be an incredibly difficult matchup for him based on their styles.
This proved to be the case with ‘El Pantera’ successfully using his height advantage and feared kicking game to keep his opponent at bay throughout the 15-minute duration.
Rodriguez capped off his dominant showing by dropping Pitbull in the third round before getting his hand raised via a unanimous decision with scores of 30-27 across the board.
At 37-years-old, time isn’t on the side of Pitbull who is determined to lift UFC gold before wrapping up his incredible career.
He weighed in with his thoughts via a post on social media once the dust had started to settle on a big night at the Kaseya Center.
“Congratulations to @panteraufc, we’ll see each other again. I’m injury free and ready to go at any time @ufc. Thank you to all the fans, I’ll make you all proud, you can count on that. #UFC314”
Patricio Pitbull should fight another legend before taking on a top contender
It made sense for Patricio Pitbull to go right in at the top of the featherweight division given his prior success and his age but he bit off more than he could chew on this occasion.
Pitbull’s name could be used to try and test one of the newer contenders at 145-pounds but this could end the excitement around him in an instant if he doesn’t get the win.
The former face of Bellator may only have a few fights left so the UFC should choose to put on the most entertaining matchup rather than having him go up against a surging talent.
They may currently be one weight class a part but Pitbull facing Jose Aldo or adding one more chapter to his rivalry with Michael Chandler would be far more exciting right now after he had a tough night at the office.
