Sergio Pettis has officially closed a monumental chapter in his storied mixed martial arts career. The elite bantamweight contender has opted to make a permanent switch to a different gym, moving away from Roufusport—the famed Milwaukee training facility that shaped his entire professional journey—following the sudden and tragic loss of his legendary mentor and coach, Duke Roufus, late last year.
The combat sports world was left in a state of profound shock and mourning in October of last year when news broke of Roufus’s passing. The devastating loss occurred just days after Roufus had cornered Pettis to a sensational, highlight-reel stoppage victory over Magomed Magomedov in Dubai—a performance that quickly entered the conversation for knockout of the year.
Following that emotional high and the subsequent tragedy, Pettis attempted to soldier on at his long-time athletic home. He remained with Roufusport for his next training camp, stepping back into the Professional Fighters League (PFL) cage in April. However, fighting without his lifelong mentor proved to be an insurmountable emotional hurdle, and Pettis dropped a decision in his return action to Mitch McKee.
Now, after attempting to maintain the status quo in an environment that had fundamentally changed, Pettis has decided to start anew with a completely different atmosphere and training structure. His upcoming test will see him take on Joji Goto at PFL Dubai on Saturday, November 14, at the Coca-Cola Arena—the very same venue where he and Roufus shared their final unforgettable moments inside the cage together.
Sergio Pettis Opens Up About Emotional Exit from Roufusport
In the immediate aftermath of Duke Roufus’s unexpected passing, Sergio Pettis made the initial choice to stick with Roufusport as he prepared for his return to competition. At the time, a victory over Mitch McKee would have almost certainly guaranteed the bantamweight standout another major title shot. Instead, he suffered an upset loss to the unbeaten but relatively unknown prospect, signaling that things behind the scenes were far from normal.
Reflecting on the turbulent period during an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow ahead of his high-stakes fight in Dubai this weekend, Pettis opened up candidly about the difficult realization that he needed to change his surroundings. He noted that he is finally getting fresh perspectives and different looks by branching out to new gyms.
"I’ve been with Duke since I was 13 years old, and not having him around was really weird," Pettis shared.
"I was still training at Roufusport; I wanted to leave a legacy, but going to the gym just didn’t feel right. I’d be going there, being sad and just trying to continue things, and it didn’t feel right. I outgrew that place a long time ago, and Duke being gone signified that, and I needed to make some changes."
The departure from the gym that defined his youth was not a decision taken lightly, but Pettis realized that staying put was holding him back both mentally and professionally. To regain his competitive edge, he sought out alternative environments where he could surround himself with new coaches and training partners.
"I found some new training partners and coaches that I felt were more compatible with me at the moment," Pettis explained. "That’s what I had to go through, and this last couple of months has been a new journey where I’ve been moving around to different gyms, and I haven’t been to Roufusport at all."
Rather than locking himself into a single new headquarters, Pettis has embraced a nomadic training model, splitting his time and sharpening his skills across multiple facilities. His recent preparations have taken him to Valle Flow Striking in Illinois, as well as Pura Vida and Wanderley Jiu-Jitsu back in his home state of Wisconsin, allowing him to absorb diverse martial arts philosophies as he prepares for the next phase of his career.
Sergio Pettis Was Devastated by the Death of Coach Duke Roufus
The timing of Duke Roufus’s passing made the tragedy even more difficult for those closest to him to process. It was just two weeks to the day from Pettis’s vicious, career-highlight knockout win over Magomed Magomedov that the combat sports community learned of the legendary trainer’s death. Roufus had celebrated his 55th birthday that February, and Pettis admits that the loss remains deeply painful even over a year later.
"He seemed so healthy," Pettis recalled, reflecting on the suddenness of the tragedy. "We were just in Dubai, had a crazy performance, and two weeks later he just passes away… It was devastating, and still to this day is devastating. That’s my homie."
The bond between fighter and coach extended far beyond the traditional athletic dynamic. Roufus had been a constant presence in Pettis’s life since he was a teenager, guiding him through the trials and tribulations of growing up in the spotlight of combat sports.
"He’s been a father figure to me since I was 13 years old. I’ve seen him literally every day since I was 13 or 14 years old, so it’s been different," Pettis said.
Describing his mindset during his last training camp, Pettis acknowledged that he was competing primarily out of a sense of duty to his fallen mentor’s memory rather than focusing entirely on his own athletic trajectory.
"The last camp was sort of pulling through things and trying to continue the legacy," Pettis noted. "I was more fighting for Duke than myself. I even wore his name on my shorts."
As Pettis prepares to step back under the bright lights of the PFL cage in Dubai, he does so carrying the lessons of his late coach, but with a renewed sense of personal independence. By leaving Roufusport and embracing a new training regimen, Pettis is carving out a fresh path forward, ready to write the next chapter of his career on his own terms.
