Sergio Pettis missed out on his chance to compete in the $1 million Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix, but the champion has an opportunity in front of him that could build his legacy as much as that tournament would have buoyed his bank account.
Pettis, who has been out of action since a complete tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament last March, will defend his 135-pound crown Friday (9 p.m. Eastern, Showtime) at Bellator 297 in Chicago against Patricio Pitbull, the current featherweight champion and former lightweight champ who aims to become the first to win titles in three weight classes for a major MMA promotion.
“He’s done amazing things in this sport,” Pettis told The Post via Zoom on Tuesday. “I’ve been watching Patricio since I was, like, 16 or 17 years old, fighting for Bellator.”
Much of the buildup to their fight, which serves as the co-main event ahead of a light heavyweight title tilt between champion Vadim Nemkov and longtime middleweight standout Yoel Romero, has focused on Pitbull’s pursuit of an unprecedented accomplishment.
But Pettis (22-5, eight finishes), younger brother to former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, is happy to play the role of spoiler.
“Spoiler starts with ‘S’ ‘P,’ right? And that’s my nickname, man. That’s what I’m trying to do,” Pettis says coolly. “I’m trying to come out here and spoil the guy’s plans.
“But not only that. I’m not really thinking about that. Honestly, I’m thinking more about my legacy. What can I do for my legacy to beat Patricio Pitbull? I think it does a lot, puts me in a new conversation, puts me in a new ranking and puts me up there with the pound-for-pound over here at Bellator.”
The announcement was quite a surprise to most, given the expectation that Pettis’ first fight since December 2021 would be a title unification against the Grand Prix winner and interim titleholder — who proved to be Patchy Mix.
Pettis, 29, tore the ACL during a wrestling drill about a month before his first Grand Prix matchup against teammate and friend Raufeon Stots, which necessitated what he estimated as five to six months of rehabilitation before returning to the gym for pad work and running at the tail end of 2022.
The inability to move around athletically as he liked took a toll but, ultimately, Pettis sees a silver lining in the harsh experience.
“I’m such a mover that, when I don’t move, I get anxious; I get a little depressed as well,” Pettis said. “So [I] had to deal with all those emotions for the first two or three months, just learning new sides about myself that I didn’t even know were there. It was a spiritual journey to get back.”
Even though he couldn’t compete against his peers in the marquee tournament — and missed out on the seven-figure grand prize — Pettis kept a watchful eye on the competition who inevitably would challenge him for his own championship.
“I felt like last year really taught me how to be happy for other athletes, even for other people in my division,” Pettis said. “I sat back [and] I watched because I know, eventually, I’m gonna compete against these other guys as well.”
The winner of Pettis and Pitbull (35-5, 23 finishes) figures to face Mix to unify the Bellator bantamweight titles and bring everything full circle.
With the caveat that he does not like to look farther ahead than his current fight, Pettis responded that he would ideally return before the end of the year to face Mix — in advance of his planned early-February wedding.
It was almost Stots awaiting Pettis (or Pitbull), but the defending interim champ was knocked out by a vicious knee 80 seconds into April’s tournament final.
With two chances stymied to set friendship aside for fighting, Pettis is of the mind that he and his pal just weren’t meant to go down that road.
“I feel like the universe showed both of us we weren’t meant to fight each other,” Pettis says. “I think I’m done with that whole idea of fighting Raufeon Stots just because he’s my body, man. Honestly, It would be really hard to go out there and compete against him.
“We were both at a different time in our lives last year. We were both hungry, and we both wanted to show who the best in the world was. But now that everything played out the way it played out, I just feel we’re better off being friends.”