PFL Chicago will see Sergio
Pettis stepping inside the cage for the first time without his
longtime coach, Duke Roufus.
Pettis and his elder brother, Anthony
Pettis, have been longtime students of late coach Duke Roufus
at Roufusport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sergio and Anthony were left
grief-stricken when Roufus passed away in his sleep at the age of
55 in October 2025 due to heart-related issues.
Advertisement
Sergio is scheduled to welcome undefeated debutant Mitchell
McKee at PFL Chicago on April 11 at the Wintrust Arena in
Chicago, Illinois. Pettis revealed that it’ll be the first time
since the age of 14 that he will be fighting without head coach
Roufus in his corner. Pettis admits that he was emotionally
affected early in his camp. However, Roufus has left his pupils in
safe hands under striking coach Scott Cushman and grappling coach
Christopher Wright, who have also been with Pettis for a long time.
Along with his brother, Anthony in his corner, Sergio believes he
will be mentally in the right place. Additionally, Pettis has the
fresh motivation to win for his newborn son.
Finding the Right Mindset
“[First fight without Roufus] Ever since I was 14,” Pettis told
Home of Fight. “It’s definitely gonna affect me
a little bit mentally. Just the first couple of days of fight camp.
But he left me with some great generals – Scott Cushman, he is one
of guys that I’ve been coached by since I was 14 as well, so I got
a good relationship with him. My coach, Chris
Wright, as well, we’ve got a great relationship together. He’s
been with me throughout this whole time, with Duke as well. And
Anthony
Pettis is of course gonna be in my corner. So I feel those guys
will keep me in the right mindset, just keeping me motivated and
hungry. Not only that man, times have changed, I got a kid in my
life now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sad that my coach passed away,
but I’ve got a lot to prove, to my son, to my coach, to the world.
So I think I’ll be able to hold my emotions together and go out
there, do what I need to do, get the job done.”
Pettis (25-7) is coming off a spinning-back-elbow knockout win over
Magomed
Magomedov that put him on a two-fight winning streak.
Meanwhile, McKee (10-0) has finished six of his ten career wins so
far.