Exclusive Q&A: UFC debutant Patricio Pitbull wants to face Ilia Topuria

In an exclusive interview with DAZN News , Patricio Pitbull opened up about his plans in the UFC featherweight division and his desire to take on Ilia Topuria.

DAZN News: You’re about to make your UFC debut against Yair Rodriguez. He's a former interim champion. What do you think of him?  

Patricio Pitbull: My opponent is a very dynamic fighter, a very exciting striker, and I'm happy to be making my UFC debut against him. Beating him will make my name much better known.  

DN: You are 37 years old, a true MMA legend. The UFC was the only thing missing from your resume, and now you are done. How do you see your career?  

PP: Thank God I had a very successful career in my previous organization, and I pretty much did everything I could do over there. The next chapter, what was missing, was to be in the UFC and prove myself here. That's what I'm here to do. I wanted to fight in the UFC and face all those top fighters and go after the UFC belt. My goal is to take the belt.

DN: At 37 years old, have you ever thought about retirement? How many years do you plan to stay at the UFC?

PP: The top guys in the division are around the same age as me. So as long as long as I continue performing, I intend to keep fighting.  

DN: When you were at Bellator, was the UFC always in the back of his mind?  

PP: All the time. When I was the champion in Bellator, people kept saying that the top fighters were in the UFC, and I always wanted to fight the champion in the UFC and the champions of other organizations. While I was at Bellator, I was able to fight the Rizin champion and I beat him. I almost fought the PFL champion, but the fight fell through. I never got the opportunity to fight the UFC champion. There were no talks of co-promotion. Now that I'm here, I wish I could fight for the title right away, but I'll make my way up and win the title now.  

DN: How does it feel now that you’re in the UFC?  

PP: I'm excited. I can see there's a bigger dimension to all this. There's more repercussion than before, but I'm very comfortable with this atmosphere and I’ll go in there and do my job.  

DN: You’re fighting at UFC 314. With Ilia Topuria moving up to lightweight, the title is vacant. Alexander Volkanovski will face Diego Lopes for the belt. What is your prediction?  

PP: I believe that Diego Lopes is in a better moment, but we can't doubt Volkanovski. We’ll see what happens, but I believe Diego Lopes will win the fight.  

DN: If Volkanovski wins, he will be champion again. At the press conference, Volkanovski said that he wants to fight you if you deliver a good performance against Yair Rodriguez. When you were at Bellator, you said that you were willing to bet a million that you would beat him. What makes you so confident?  

PP: I am always confident because I know I am the best and I'm going to beat him.  

DN: When you were at Bellator, you became a double champion and you defeated Michael Chandler for the lightweight title. Now Michael is fighting at lightweight. If you win the belt in your division, would you like to move up to lightweight one day?  

PP: I'm very happy to do that again. You know, Michael was my easiest fight ever, and I’d love to do that again.  

DN: Do you have a name in mind after beating Yair and winning the belt ?  

PP: I would like to fight Ilia Topuria. After I win this belt, I would like Ilia Topuria to come back so we can make that fight. Otherwise, I could just move up and fight him at lightweight. There’s a secret I can’t reveal, but I have something that will take him down.  

DN: Islam Makhachev is the lightweight champion. Do you think that you can beat him too?  

PP: I feel that moving up, I would be really strong. I believe Ilia will be as well. Big guys in the lightweight division, like Islam, cut a lot of weight, so they’re not at their best because of the weight cut. Since we would be moving up, we would perform better as we’d be cutting less weight. So I believe I can beat anyone. That’s where my confidence comes from. Fighting Islam would be no different. I think I would perform really well at lightweight just like I did before. I’ve already won a lightweight belt, and I believe I could do it again and surprise a lot of people.  

DN: Michael Chandler will fight on the same card as you against Yair. What is your pick?  

PP: I exchanged messages with Pimblett, and he seems to be in a very good place heading into this fight. Chandler, right now, is more focused on putting on a show, and he’s forgotten about winning, so he doesn't have that real championship mentality anymore. That makes me lean towards Pimblett. They're both great fighters, but in terms of who wants it more and who has the momentum right now, I think that's Pimblett.