UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Sergio Pettis believes he texted James Gallagher with his performance in the Bellator 242 main event.
Pettis (20-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) remained undefeated to start his career at Bellator on Friday when he bested Ricky Bandejas (13-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) in three rounds to win a unanimous decision at Mohegan Sun Arena . The fight was touted as a title eliminator in the bantamweight division.
Bandejas is, of course, the only person to have beaten Gallagher (10-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) in MMA, giving the cheeky Irishman a knockout blow at Bellator 204 in August 2018. Pettis said he was not going to go be a victim of the same result, even if it was not the most exciting contest.
“I don’t know if it was a statement for a title shot,” Pettis told reporters, including MMA Junkie, after the Bellator 242 fight. “I think it was just another good victory on my resume. I beat a Ricky. Trays hard. However, I showed Gallagher that this is how you do it. This is how you defend yourself. Those punches and kicks, if you learn defense, you can block that (expletive). “
Pettis said his verbal jab at Gallagher does not mean he is looking for that fight right away. He believes that criticism of Gallagher’s level of competition throughout his career is warranted, and noted the loss to Bandejas as evidence of what happens when he fights legitimate talent.
It seems Pettis is tending toward a title shot against winner Juan Archuleta and Patrick Mix, who are expected to fight for the vacant 135-pound title this year. However, if Gallagher wins a few fights in the meantime, Pettis says he would appreciate it.
“He has to make his way to catch me,” Pettis said. “He has a couple more wins under his belt and beat some notable guys. If he can beat Ricky Bandejas, then he deserves to fight me, no matter how many followers he has on Instagram. “
Pettis got away with Bandejas over the course of their three-round fight. He used superior punches to win each round on all three scorecards, but it was not entirely satisfactory. Pettis has had 10 of his last 11 decision wins, and said it’s a goal to start driving away opponents more consistently.
“I am critical of my own performance,” said Pettis. “Obviously I want to start ending up with more and more people. Ricky was tough, man, so I had to play a smarter game plan and go out there and do what I had to do, but there’s more to come. ”
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