Patricio Pitbull received’t be combating at Saturday’s PFL vs. Bellator pay-per-view occasion in Saudi Arabia after shedding one other opponent in Gabriel Braga, a number of individuals with data of the state of affairs instructed MMA Preventing following a report by MMAjunkie.
PFL introduced Braga was “unable to compete.”
Pitbull, the Bellator featherweight champion, was initially slated to satisfy Jesus Pinedo, who received the 145-pound season in PFL in 2023, nevertheless Braga stepped in as a short-notice substitute after Pinedo withdrew. Braga misplaced to Pinedo within the 2023 finals.
It’s nonetheless unclear what led to the withdrawal.
Braga initially agreed to face Aaron Pico on the undercard earlier than shifting to the match with Pitbull on the pay-per-view portion. It was going to be his first MMA battle because the homicide of his father and head coach Diego Braga in January.
Pitbull was trying to rebound from back-to-back defeats to Sergio Pettis and future RIZIN titleholder Chihiro Suzuki, the previous of which was a shot on the Bellator bantamweight title and the latter of which a short-notice light-weight contest in Japan. It’s nonetheless unclear if the Brazilian will enter the 2024 PFL season or proceed to defend his title in Bellator.
PFL has but to announce which bout can be moved to the principle card. Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader, the heavyweight champs of PFL and Bellator, collide in the principle occasion.
Mike Heck contributed to this report
