Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull will be out of action until 2024 after undergoing a cervical spine surgery to fix a herniated disc that caused neck pain and numbness in his arms following his first MMA career knockout loss to Chihiro Suzuki at Super RIZIN 2.
The reigning Bellator featherweight champion, Patricio Pitbull, is expected to stay off the competitive circuit until 2024 following a cervical spine surgery he underwent on Sunday, according to an announcement from his team. The surgery came as a response to the first knockout loss Pitbull experienced of his professional MMA career – a shocking defeat he suffered in Super RIZIN 2 on July 30 against Chihiro Suzuki in Japan. The MMA fighter revealed that he had to have surgery to correct a C6 and C7 disc herniation that had been causing him severe pain in the neck and a numbing sensation in his arms.
Pitbull is projected to receive clearance to compete again in six months. Meanwhile, Bellator has not yet disclosed its plans for the 145-pound belt, which Pitbull last defended in October 2022. Since that title defense against Adam Borics, the Brazilian fighter has had three matches. He scored a victory over then-RIZIN champion, Kleber Koike, in a non-title bout in Japan, and suffered two significant losses – one against Sergio Pettis for the 135-pound Bellator throne, and most recently the catchweight defeat at the hands of Suzuki in Japan.
The celebrated Bellator fighter had his operation in Natal, Brazil, on Sunday. His doctor, Marco Moscatelli, conjectured that the injury potentially impacted his performance in his latest fights against Pettis and Suzuki, marking the first time in Pitbull’s MMA career that he experienced back-to-back losses. “I was feeling this pressure when I got hit in the fights, I was feeling my arms and legs weak and numb,” the fighter revealed in a statement. He explained that he had deferred the surgery due to its irreversibility and inherent risks, including the potential inability to return to fighting. Pitbull confessed, “I was very conservative and paid the price. I had never lost two in a row nor got knocked out in 19 years as a professional. My only way out was doing the surgery.”
Post-surgery, the hour-long surgical procedure was declared successful by his team. Gaining a renewed sense of confidence, Pitbull assures, “I will come back stronger to defend my title and do a rematch with Pettis for the bantamweight title, and another [rematch] with Chihiro Suzuki to defend my Bellator title.” He showed appreciation to his medical team led by Dr. Marco, expressing, “Post-surgery was great. I feel way better and motivated to have my full recovery and return to training as soon as possible.”