Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Sergio Pettis stresses the impact of the little things amid brother Anthony Pettis’ planned lawsuit against USADA.
Recently released former UFC flyweight, and current Bellator fighter, Sergio Pettis is sharing his side of the story regarding the cut his brother, Anthony Pettis, allegedly suffered from a USADA drug test moments before his UFC 241 bout with Nate Diaz.
Pettis (18-5) chatted with Bloody Elbow ahead of his Bellator debut opposite Alfred Khashakyan (11-4) at Bellator 238.
“I was out in the crowd and his fiancee came out and told me the news. It’s unnecessary bulls—t that shouldn’t have to happen before a fight,” the younger Pettis brother argued. “When you go into these big fights, you need to be mentally and physically ready. Some little things like that will throw you off mentally. Fighting is very mental. I’m not saying that affected the outcome.”
It is not rare to see ageing fighters leverage their name value into an appealing Bellator contracts. At only 26-years-old, however, the six-year UFC veteran said it was important to get his business right when jumping ship.
“Bellator presented a beautiful opportunity for me. I was honestly scared to be a free agent for a little bit, but it played out to my favor. It’s cool to be in a new world, a new organization,” he said. “I had to really sit back and weigh out the positives and negatives. Everything pointed to Bellator right now. Why not take a chance and why not possibly grow my name more elsewhere?
Pettis also shared an amusing story about how a baby goat ended up in his apartment — and the bond built between the goat and Pettis’ pit bull.
“My older brother, Ray, was actually babysitting the goat for one of his friends. I had him come over and meet the goat. It’s a funny story. The freaking thing pissed all over my house. It peed that much,” Pettis laughed. “My dog was confused. He was like, ‘what is thing thing?’ He had never in his life seen a goat. He was actually chill with him, man. Kissing on him. Loving on him. My pit bull is pretty nice. A big baby.”
Bellator 238 takes place on Saturday, Jan. 25. The event is headlined by a women’s featherweight title fight between champion Julia Budd and challenger Cris Cyborg.