Ahead of a pivotal fight this weekend in New Orleans, former Bellator two-division champion Patricio Pitbull has adopted an unconventional approach to his preparation.
Following a disappointing UFC debut loss to Yair Rodriguez in April, Pitbull has isolated himself in a house in Natal, Brazil. Surrounded only by coaches and training partners, his goal is to “better concentrate for the fight” against Dan Ige at UFC 318. The focus has been so intense that he even forgot his own birthday.
“I was very distracted,” Pitbull explained. “The [last] camp had some interferences from personal situations, so I decided to isolate myself and leave it all for later. It’s a pause from social life and problems, mainly.”
His routine consists of waking up, training, recovering, and training again, with film study of Ige filling the time between sessions. The motivation for this drastic change is straightforward.
“I can’t lose. That’s the reason,” Pitbull stated. “Anything that took my focus away, even for a few minutes, I decided to leave behind. My oldest son visits because he already trains and behaves. I see my younger son and his mother only briefly a few times a week. The great motivation is not to lose the next fight.”
The loss to Rodriguez, a top-five contender, weighed heavily on the longtime Bellator star, who had entered the UFC with high expectations after years of anticipation.
“It sadly happened,” he said of the debut loss. “What I can do now is look ahead and take my next step. My next step is this fight, and doing what’s in my hands is to shield myself from information from outside the camp. Everything that gets to me is filtered.”
Pitbull believes Ige’s aggressive fighting style will produce a more exciting contest. He views his opponent, who has never been knocked out or submitted, as a benchmark for the division’s elite.
“I think he’s the gatekeeper of the division; he separates the good from the great,” Pitbull said. “I really need to put on an above-average performance against him. He’s tough and comes forward at all times, so he will definitely unleash the violent Pitbull.”
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