Bellator 258’s Sergio Pettis on how Mike Tyson altered his career path
Bellator 258 takes place on Friday, May 7th. The event emanates from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and broadcasts on Showtime. At Bellator MMA’s virtual media session, I talked with Bellator 258’s Sergio Pettis ahead of his bantamweight title bid against reigning world champion Juan Archuleta in the night’s main event.
Bellator 258’s Sergio Pettis
You were talking about spiritual growth a bit earlier. I wanted to talk about a prior Instagram post about being on Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson.
Being in a dark spot mentally, back-to-back losses at the time. But just getting some really great perspectives from Iron Mike there.
I’m wondering, how much of that moment there was a catalyst for the present wave of success you’re riding?
“Yeah man, it was very important. I mean on top of that, that guy has some strong weed. I was in a whole different world at the time. But just to hear, you know, when you think of Mike Tyson. You think about this tough killer and he is all that. But at the same time he has a side of him that’s very spiritual and very vulnerable, you know. I feel like a lot of us hide from that. We don’t try to be as vulnerable just because we’re scared of judgments. We’re scared of social media coming at you and attacking you.”
“But you know it’s taught me that it’s okay to be me. It’s okay to have these feelings that I was having. Okay to sometimes go through those dark times to see better times. It’s all just what you take from it. From the lessons you’ve learned throughout your life. It could be negative stuff, but I feel like a lot of stuff I went through negatively just taught me a lot of positive. That I was able to take with me later on in life. Definitely learned a lot on that Tyson podcast, man. It was a very spiritual moment. I was high as hell, to be honest.”
Bellator MMA
You mentioned the high-quality weed dynamic there, are we getting a kush-filled celebration after the fight here, or is it hard to facilitate that in the bubble?
“Definitely hard to facilitate that in the bubble. Especially in Connecticut as well. So I don’t know the rules out here. But yeah, usually after the fights I’m very relaxed. I don’t like to drink too much or smoke too much. I just tend to take in the moment. Let my body feel how it’s supposed to feel you know. It’s a little beat-up. So yeah, I feel like the older I got the more I just kind of relax with my lady and eat some good food.”
