Sergio Pettis is taking a positive perspective on entering his first fight week without his late coach and mentor Duke Roufus.
Pettis (25-7) is set to return to competition on Saturday in the PFL Chicago main event when he takes on Mitch McKee (10-0) in a bantamweight bout at Wintrust Arena (ESPN2, ESPN App).
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Almost every time Pettis has competed to this point in his career, Roufus has been in his corner. The renowned coach unexpectedly died in October at 55, less than two weeks after witnessing Pettis score a Knockout of the Year contender vs. Magomed Magomedov.
The loss is still “fresh,” and Pettis is still processing his new reality without Roufus, he said. However, he is not taking a negative mindset into the cage. Instead, he is looking at this next fight as an opportunity to showcase all the wonderful things he learned from Roufus over so many years.
“Obviously, I still have that grief, and I still think about Duke every single day, especially this week,” Pettis told MMA Junkie Radio. “But at the same time, I’ve got to go out and get the job done regardless. I’ve got a son at home and have to provide for my family. I have to separate the two. I love my coach, I miss him so well, but at the end of the day, it’s just me out there. I get to go out there and show the world everything he taught me. That’s how we keep his memory alive. Everything he’s taught me from skillset to the level of training I need to be at daily, I’m going to go out there and show it to the world.”
For Pettis, 32, it’s a big fight in his career. He wants to capture the momentum of his highlight-reel knockout over Magomedov and deliver a big moment that could potentially set him up for a chance to fight for PFL’s currently vacant bantamweight belt.
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Pettis admits he was slightly surprised this fight wasn’t for the belt, but if PFL is still deciding which two names it wants vying for gold, he intends to make an impression.
“I’m still hungry for belts,” Pettis said. “I think I should fight for the belt here in PFL, especially with my name in my last performance in general. I still want one more belt on my resume before I even care what’s next, so that’s definitely a goal of mine.”
“It could be a dangerous fight. I know he’s going to try to come out and test himself and try to make a name off me.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sergio Pettis ‘still hungry for belts’ entering PFL Chicago
