After doing all he could in Bellator, Patricio Pitbull is finally moving on.

The legendary three-time Bellator featherweight champion and former lightweight champion was granted his release from PFL on Tuesday after expressing his dissatisfaction with the promotion for months. Pitbull has made his intentions crystal clear in recent weeks: He wants to end his career in the UFC.

Pitbull said Wednesday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" that his team has already flown to Las Vegas for a meeting with the global MMA leader. As a free agent who can go wherever he pleases, Pitbull has no intentions of landing in any organization other than the UFC.

"We're going to have some talks, and I believe that if those talks were to happen, there would be interest," Pitbull said of UFC. "So if they're talking to us, there is interest there, and I don't think it's something difficult for them to decide. [I have 13] title wins, just me and Jon Jones.

"If I were to talk with someone else, I would just stay at PFL. The entire reasoning for all this is to go to the UFC, so that's what I'm planning."

Pitbull, 37, has been one of the best featherweights on the planet for the past decade, setting numerous Bellator records throughout his 43-fight career. Fans have long debated over fantasy fights between the Brazilian and UFC featherweight champions of days' past — finally, some answers as to what those fantasy matchups would look like may be coming soon if the UFC makes Pitbull an offer.

Ideally, Pitbull wants to enter the UFC title picture immediately upon arrival. Three names stand out for him for a potential Octagon debut: UFC champion Ilia Topuria is his "top choice," though Pitbull also has former UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski and top contender Diego Lopes in his sights as well.

"I think it would be a pretty [ideal] story if I start against someone who's big, but I don't really care who's the first one that they put in front of me," Pitbull said. "I'm just going to go there and do what I want to."

Pitbull said he's remained ready in a "pre-camp" state since PFL fight talks were first teased in late 2024 without anything ever coming to fruition. Assuming a UFC signing comes within a matter of days, Pitbull believes he'll be ready to fight in just 12 weeks.

Pitbull has been the loudest of the recent champions and fighters under the PFL umbrella to speak out about their dissatisfaction since Bellator was acquired in 2023. Having planted his flag on the issue in recent months, Pitbull made up his mind and wasn't willing to budge.

"First, when they sent me the release letter [on Tuesday], they were keeping [my] matching rights, and I think [everyone] saw that I tweeted after it, and I sent [PFL founder] Donn [Davis] a direct message on Twitter as well," Pitbull said. "And later that day, Loren [Mack] from PFL called my management team and he said my release would be unconditional. So right now I'm waiting for the new letter, and I'm happy to get this done. I want to thank Donn Davis for doing what's right.

"I think they noticed, especially after yesterday, that things wouldn't work between us and that I really wanted to move on. We've been trying that for a while, and so they decided to let me go. What I just said is not a secret to anyone, that I want to sign with UFC. And as soon as we have the release paper, we'll be initiating conversation with them.

"Everyone knows that's exactly what I'm going to do, so [I have] no issues saying that out loud."

If Pitbull had stayed silent about his disagreements with PFL, he may not have received what he asked for. He knows the promotion wasn't happy seeing him speak out as loudly and often as has. But Pitbull also knows that precious time was lost at this stage of his career; he hasn't fought since March, when he defeated Jeremy Kenedy via a third-round knockout, so there was an urgency to the situation.

"Donn Davis and people weren't very happy with that, but I tried to take care of things internally," Pitbull said of his social media posts. "They didn't work and I had to come public, and if they were unhappy with that, they were unhappy with the truth. I didn't make up any lies. I just stated facts.

"Until a few days ago, I was very pissed off with those [people] because they kept me away for so long and they kept delaying [me] and didn't have any news, but I think they understood the reason why I was complaining and what was right for me, and it showed a good faith [effort] from them releasing me from my contract.

"They could [still] be holding me up for a few more months until my contract was up and the negotiation period and all that, [but] now with them saying they're going to waive the matching rights as well, [it] shows that they really understood and they're showing their good side. And for me, I think I was screwed over with all this long layoff, but them letting me go right now, unconditionally, that's satisfying for me."

Although Pitbull's run in the short-lived Bellator/PFL era went the opposite of how he hoped, he doesn't want to see the promotion fail. PFL has made a handful of significant changes as the 2025 season draws near in April. The Bellator brand is officially gone, there won't be a $1 million tournament prize, and the traditional season point system is gone.

Ultimately, Pitbull believes all those changes are positive — even if they aren't in his best interest.

"The sport needs them to grow," Pitbull said of PFL. "The sport needs PFL to succeed, to have another player out there, to give all those fighters these opportunities and for eventually fighters to get paid better. So from what I'm hearing, from everything that went on and how things are ending, I'm getting a new good impression from PFL. But my situation was entirely different.

"I had been 15 years with Bellator. They couldn't book me as frequently as I wanted, and there was all my desire for my legacy and all that, so I had to move on. But for a guy that's coming up, I think that they could still be a very good option."