Patricky Pitbull says fans of Usman Nurmagomedov have been verbally abusing him on social media
Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull has disclosed that Usman Nurmagomedov's supporters have been verbally abusing him on social media.
On November 18 at Bellator 288, "Pitbull" is slated to face Nurmagomedov in his first title defense. After his brother Patricio Pitbull relinquished the belt in November of last year, the Brazilian claimed the vacant title. The Irish fighter was TKO'd by the 36-year-old in the second round, giving him his first piece of Bellator gold and avenging a loss to Peter Queally months earlier.
One of Bellator's quickest-emerging talents is Usman Nurmagomedov who holds a record of 15-0. The 24-year-old has never lost in his MMA career and is the cousin of former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In an exclusive interview with James Lynch, Patricky Pitbull was questioned if he had ever experienced such abuse before a fight.
"I'm here to fight, I don't care about this. These guys like to talk to sh*t on my Instagram... They come everyday to insult my history, talk sh*t and insult me. So f**k everybody, I don't care about them. I will destroy Usman... Every day I look to my Instagram, I get a lot of messages from Russians talking sh*t about me, I don't care. I train hard every day to beat my opponent."
Pitbull, on the other hand, believes that no opponent is less deserving of the accolade. In a recent interview, the Brazilian expressed his honest sentiments regarding his future opponent. The 155-pound Bellator MMA champion, a 23-fight veteran of the promotion, believes that his opponent has been given the chance to compete for the championship based solely on his last name.
“I’m very happy to fight with him, I’m ready for anything, I don’t think he deserves this title fight, he (received the title shot) because he has a big nickname, Nurmagomedov”, said Pitbull as he revealed his thoughts about his upcoming opponent.
Usman Nurmagomedov had an accomplished career to date. He has the chance to go down as the third-youngest fighter to win a Bellator belt at age 24. This criticism has been leveled at Islam Makhachev as well, so Nurmagomedov is not the only member of his camp to experience it. The UFC 280 main event's second-round submission of 155-pound contender Charles Oliveira for the lightweight championship silenced his detractors.