Patricio Pitbull | Ready To Find A Rhythm

In addition to Rodriguez and Ige not wanting to engage as freely and willingly as Pitbull had hoped, resulting in a couple solid, but not outstanding, efforts to begin his UFC tenure, the 45-fight veteran also points to his extended stay on the sidelines between his final bout with his former promotion and his Miami debut in April as a contributing factor as well.

“A champion needs to stay in fighting rhythm and stay active,” began Pitbull, who will be making is third appearance in five months when he steps in with Keita this weekend. “Before that Yair Rodriguez fight, I hadn’t fought in a year and two months, and that did affect me in that fight.

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“It was a different organization, it feels a little different, so there is a lot of adapting,” he continued, adding, “I’m looking to stay as active as possible now.”

This weekend’s business trip to Accor Arena in Paris presents the ranked featherweight with another marquee assignment and a situation that feels extremely familiar to him, as it was just five months ago that he was in Keita’s shoes.

The 27-year-old debutant was a two-division champion under the Oktagon MMA banner and one of the most sought after prospects competing outside of the sport’s biggest promotion. Born in Guinea and residing in Belgium, Keita has amassed a 16-1 record, with his lone setback coming as a result of an injury, and his run of five victories since that lone stumble have many eager to see how he looks in his debut against the seasoned, 11th-ranked Brazilian on Saturday.

"I went through a little of the same,” Pitbull said, recognizing the similarities in their situations when asked about being the man to welcome Keita to the UFC. “When I fought Yair Rodriguez, he was ranked in the Top 5 and I wasn’t ranked at all coming into the UFC, and he accepted it. “I understand the UFC, he’s a very well-regarded guy here in Europe, and I’m welcoming him into the UFC.”

Paris Main Event Preview

Having gone through the experience himself and acknowledged that there is an adjustment process when you first touch down on the biggest stage in the sport, Pitbull intends to leverage the fact that he’s been through it and that Keita is fighting as close to home as possible in his favor when they step in against one another this weekend.

“For sure!” he said enthusiastically when asked about using the lessons he’s gleaned from his own debut experience to heap added pressure on the shoulders of the highly regarded newcomer. “He’s fighting at home, he’s gonna have all his friends and teammates around here and there is gonna be that pressure on him, so yeah, I intend on using that pressure against him.”

Along with being another hyped new arrival to debut in the UFC this year, Keita is also someone that has historically fought on the front foot, bringing the fight to his opponents and looking to engage, which is another element of this fight that certainly piques Pitbull’s interest.

“He’s a guy that is always moving forward, explosive combos, so I’m expecting a great fight on Saturday,” he said when asked about the pairing and how he sees things playing out, quickly transitioning back to his traditional low-key tone.

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As much as this is a tremendous matchup in and of itself, it’s also one that carries some divisional ramifications, as well, both because Pitbull is stationed in the Top 15 and because of his percolating tensions with current champ Alexander Volkanovski.

After years atop the Bellator featherweight division, Pitbull had his sights set on UFC gold upon arrival, and there has been some banter between the two sides, with Volkanovski voicing that Pitbull will get his opportunity when he puts himself in a position to challenge for the title, something he didn’t do while dropping his debut to Rodriguez.

In response, the Brazilian and his team clipped the video of Volkanovski’s comments and stitched together a response, with Pitbull breaking out his English to let the noted home cook know the menu he has in mind should they ever meet inside the Octagon.

Beating Keita on Saturday won’t necessarily hustle the veteran to the top of the list of contenders, but it would likely move him forward, and Pitbull is hopeful that it sends a message to the champ and everyone else, as well.

“Maybe (they see) a guy who they’re saying is old can still beat up some young guys and get to the title,” he said with a smirk. “We’ll see.”