After falling short against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314, Patricio Pitbull finally secured his first UFC win with a gritty performance against Dan Ige at UFC 318. The former Bellator champ made sure to earn a spot in the green column after enduring a brutal beating in his debut. In a hard-fought war, Pitbull edged out Ige, and as the dust settled, the UFC rewarded him with a ranking. Now, with fire in his eyes, he’s put the entire division on notice.

From being unranked, Pitbull has climbed four spots in the featherweight rankings to sit just above Steve Garcia at #11. Interestingly, he is now ranked higher than Dan Ige, who has dropped three positions to 14th. Calvin Kattar and Bryce Mitchell are no longer in the rankings. As the rankings dropped, Pitbull couldn’t keep his calm as he took to his X handle to issue a callout to everyone in the featherweight division.

“Now I’m officially on the @ufc rankings and I’m ready to climb them higher right away. Anyone, anytime. Short notice, long notice, doesn’t matter. I can fight today, and every Featherweight on the roster can get it. Especially the ones ranked higher than me. Let’s go!” writes Pitbull on X. Directly challenging everyone who is ranked above him, Pitbull has opened floodgates for his UFC career.

With fighters like Jean Silva, Aljamain Sterling, Brian Ortega, and Josh Emmett ranked above him, Pitbull has certainly ensured that all eyes are on him now. Pitbull has a reason to call all of them out because the former Bellator star has not gotten the same respect in the UFC as he did in Bellator.

After his victory over Ige at UFC 318, no one walked in the cage to conduct his Octagon interview, which was quite odd, considering he is one of the UFC’s biggest signings in recent times. Well, now that Pitbull has called out the entire division, what’s next for him? Let’s find out.

What’s coming for Patricio Pitbull after UFC 318?

Pitbull’s loss to Yair Rodriguez had a profound impact. Following his victory over Dan Ige, the former Bellator champion confessed to the media that he was scared of another defeat. “That’s a dream come true. I was a little bit afraid because my opponent is very dangerous. I know he thinks the same about me. He’s a warrior, much respect from me, but I got the victory,” said Pitbull after the victory.

When asked about his next opponent, Pitbull straight up called out Aaron Pico, “If he’s good, we can fight next week.” With his victory against Dan Ige, Pitbull has certainly opened new windows for his UFC career, as Dana White might test his skills against the likes of Josh Emmett or Aljamain Sterling next.

The promotion might want to give Pitbull a ranked opponent, considering his strong fan following. While his fight with Aaron Pico isn’t on the horizon right now, it certainly remains a possibility. With 1-1 under the UFC banner, Patricio Pitbull now knows the level of a UFC fighter, and he knows that he will have to train hard to compete with the top talents of the promotion. Will he be able to get past them? That question is yet to be answered.