Juan Archuleta and Sergio Pettis plan to put on a high-level title fight at Bellator 258.
Archuleta (25-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) will look for the first defense of his bantamweight title when he meets Pettis (20-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) in the headlining act of the May 7 card, which airs on Showtime from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
It’s a clash of two proven commodities under the Bellator banner, and champion Archuleta said it will be a display of what the sport is all about – and where it’s going.
“What you’re going to see with this fight with Sergio is the future of MMA,” Archuleta told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during Wednesday’s Bellator 258 virtual press conference. “We’re both the future of MMA. We both have the style where we can put it together. With this fight, you’re going to see the highest hybrid of martial arts that you can see.”
For Pettis, this will be his first championship opportunity. He couldn’t reach the pinnacle under the UFC banner during a lengthy tenure with the promotion, but he now gets his shot to put a belt around his waist. In his mind, experience against top-flight competition will be to his benefit.
“I’ve fought some of the best of the best,” Pettis said. “I’ve fought guys that were in the UFC or became legends of the sport, the OG’s of the sport. I’ve done it all, and I feel like this is my time to come out here and do what I’ve got to do. Me and Juan are going to come out and put on a good fight next Friday, and we’ll see what happens. I’m all in. I’m focused and I’m ready, I know he’s focused and ready, so I’m excited.”
As the man standing atop Bellator’s 135-pound mountain, Archuleta knows all targets are pointed at him. He doesn’t take that position lightly, he said, and it takes extreme focus to make sure it doesn’t slip away.
That’s why, for this fight, Archuleta is shedding the label of being the champion. He said he doesn’t look at the title fight as if he’s trying to hold on to something, but rather for a new gain.
“That’s the hardest thing to do is defend your throne, right?” Archuleta said. “But that goes for people that have different mindsets for me. For me, every fight from this point on is ‘I’m going to fight for a world title’ every fight. That’s my mentality going into this fight. This fight right now, I don’t have the belt. It’s up for grabs, so Sergio and I are going to be facing off to decide who gets to walk away with it.’”
No matter how Archuleta approaches it, though, he is the one looking to hold off the challenger. Pettis said he’s extremely hungry to take what Archuleta has for himself, and he won’t hold anything back inside the cage.
“I am definitely ready for this opportunity,” Pettis said. “I feel like I’ve had the tests early on in my career that was going to lead me into title shots, and I had to learn, man. I was young, fighting some of the best in the world – wasn’t as mature as I am now, didn’t take the sport as serious as I do now, or myself. All that stuff led me into the man I am today and I’m ready, man. Me and Juan are about to go to war, baby, two days after Cinco de Mayo.”
Juan Archuleta, Sergio Pettis to show ‘future of MMA’ in Bellator 258 title fight
