Cross-promotion has been a hot topic in MMA lately and the conversation has been spearheaded by Bellator’s Patricio Pitbull. Ever since Michael Chandler made his way to the UFC, Pitbull has made it clear that although he’s in Bellator, he would like to fight some of the UFC’sbest competition. Already holding a win over Chandler, Pitbull would like to face Max Holloway in a cross-promotional bout.
Emerging Superstar
Michael Chandler is enjoying his newfound superstardom after his impressive UFC debut. At UFC 257, Chandler made his mark on the lightweight division by taking out a ranked opponent in Dan Hooker. And, it only took him 2 minutes and 30 seconds to do so.
Nonetheless, in success or failure, Patricio Pitbull is making it known that he will continue to be a thorn in Chandler’s side. Pitbull and Chandler have only fought once in their careers. However, Patricio was the last man to defeat “Iron” Mike, taking his Bellator lightweight championship in the process.
Cross-Promotional Hopes
Recently, Pitbull spoke with MMA Junkie. During the conversation, he continued the dialogue of wanting to face Max Holloway.
“There’s something more that I would like to add to this sport,” Freire said. “I’d like to be part of this big movement to make this change (and) force the UFC. I already beat your future champion. So let’s put everyone together and see who’s really the best. The fans would want that. The sport needs that. No more, ‘This promotion or that promotion?’ There is a business side of things, but people want to see the best fighting the best.
Pitbull vs Holloway
As the conversation continued, Patricio mentioned that Bellator would pay Holloway handsomely for the fight if it were to happen. And, he shut down a common misconception that Bellator fighters don’t get paid well.
Looks like The “B”League is the new A League. Congrats to another former @BellatorMMA champ Volkov on a great @UFC performance last night . #ufcvegas18 #Ateam
— Patricio Pitbull (@PatricioPitbull) February 7, 2021
“We’ll see what’s next. Maybe Max Holloway gets tired of making pennies in the UFC and comes to Bellator so we can make a huge stadium show in Hawaii. We could see a change from the top guys from the UFCto Bellator,” finished Pitbull.
Do fans of the sport want to see Pitbull face Max Holloway? If so, is the match big enough to be cross-promoted?
