Tag: Bellator 289

Juliana Velasquez says Bellator 289 rematch with Liz Carmouche is about righting a wrong

Juliana Velasquez didn’t get exactly what she wanted in the aftermath of her title loss, but Friday she’ll get the next best thing.

NORWICH, Conn. – [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] may not have gotten exactly what she was hoping for in the aftermath of her title loss, but Friday she’ll get the next best thing.

Velasquez (12-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) lost the women’s flyweight title to Liz Carmouche (17-7 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) at Bellator 278 in April in Honolulu. Carmouche took the belt with a TKO from unanswered elbows late in the fourth round. But Velasquez thought the stoppage was premature and lobbied to have the result overturned.

That didn’t happen, but the Bellator brass decided the Brazilian was worthy of a crack at redemption without having to work her way back up. Velasquez will challenge Carmouche for the title in the Bellator 289 co-main event Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

“I was frustrated – I didn’t think (the stoppage) was fair,” Velasquez told MMA Junkie through a translator at a Tuesday media day ahead of the promotion’s final card of the year. “I even had ‘Big’ John McCarthy writing on the appeal that I made to the commission. That didn’t go through. I expected it to. But I don’t have any extra feelings toward Liz because of this. I don’t feel like it’s a rivalry or anything. It’s just about myself and trying to right this wrong and get the belt back and become the champion again.”

Carmouche said Tuesday she thinks Velasquez should’ve had to go back into the queue and win a fight before she got another title shot. But she also said she could tell fairly early after she beat Velasquez that Bellator probably was going to give Velasquez a rematch.

Velasquez found a little amusement with the idea Carmouche thinks she’s undeserving of a rematch coming off a loss – and thinks her performance in April right up until she got caught is why.

“That’s her opinion, and only her opinion – nothing more than that,” Velasquez said. “I think the reason I’m getting this immediate rematch is everyone saw a mistake was committed that night. Of course she doesn’t want to fight me right away because she was losing every single minute of that fight until the end when (the referee) made the mistake. So she can think whatever she wants.”

Velasquez was about a -140 betting favorite over Carmouche in their first fight. In Friday’s rematch, even though Carmouche won in April to take the belt, Velasquez is even more of a favorite. She’s -180 at Tipico Sportsbook.

Check out the full media day interview with Velasquez above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.

Video: Watch Thursday’s Bellator 289 ceremonial weigh-ins live on MMA Junkie at 2 p.m. ET

Check out a live video stream of the Bellator 289 ceremonial weigh-ins.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Bellator 289 ceremonial fighter weigh-ins take place Thursday, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMA Junkie at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT).

The weigh-ins take place at the Cabaret Theater at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. The on-site Mohegan Sun Arena hosts Friday’s event, which has a main card on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

In addition to the video stream above, you can check out the early and official Bellator 289 weigh-in results from earlier in the day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.

Liz Carmouche: Juliana Velasquez rematch at Bellator 289 ‘doesn’t really make sense’

Liz Carmouche would rather be testing her skills against a new opponent, but will have to defeat Juliana Velasquez for a second time.

NORWICH, Conn. – [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] would rather be fighting a new opponent for her first Bellator title defense, but is ready to turn away Juliana Velasquez for the second time.

In the co-main event of Bellator 289, Carmouche (17-7 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) will put her flyweight title on the line for the first time against former champ Velasquez (12-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) in an immediate rematch. The event takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena, and airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

At Bellator 278, Carmouche locked Velasquez in a crucifix position and began raining down elbows. Immediately after referee Mike Beltran stopped the fight, Velasquez began protesting the stoppage, despite being unable to improve her position. For some, the result was controversial. Others, like Carmouche and her team, thought it was on to the next opponent for her first title defense.

“I’ve rewatched the tape, my coaches rewatched the tape, everybody went through everything and there was no doubts in any of our minds,” Carmouche told MMA Junkie and other reporters at media day Wednesday. “So I thought, alright cool, there’s not going to be a rematch. There’s women that are already scheduled, and in my mind, you have to come off a win to be able to fight to be able to be a contender for the belt.”

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With Velasquez seeking to overturn the result, the rumblings and rumors of a rematch continued to grow louder. Carmouche and her team began preparing for the inevitability of facing Velasquez again. Soon enough, the official news came, which did not sit well.

“Just with a different outcome, like if it would have been I eye gouged her and she was eligible for a rematch, yeah, that absolutely makes sense in my mind,” Carmouche said. “(If) I kicked her in the groin, it was a rematch – those are circumstances where I understand, like yeah, that warrants it. But not when you’re not moving on the ground and I’m elbowing you 12 unanswered elbows. Just doesn’t really make sense in my mind.

“So, I thought it was going to be a different woman, and in my mind, that’s a lot more exciting to me is a new opponent. Somebody that’s fresh, some things different, different style, so I can also grow more. When you’re fighting the same opponent, it’s not really a lot of growth. It’s kind of limited to what they do, what they don’t do. When it’s a different opponent and a different style, it just excites me more, because I get to show a different part of my game.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.

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Danny Sabatello gets goosebumps about champ status, rates Raufeon Stots’ smack talk ‘negative 2’

Danny Sabatello will have the chance to put an exclamation point on his heated rivalry with Raufeon Stots in the headliner of Bellator 289.

NORWICH, Conn. – As fight day rapidly approaches, [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] is beginning to feel what it would be like to have a piece of the Bellator bantamweight title around his waist.

In the main event of Bellator 289, Sabatello takes on interim champion Raufeon Stots in a bantamweight grand prix semifinal bout. The event takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena, and the main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

The build up to the fight has been filled with trash talk from both competitors. Finding a positive comment from either man about their opponent has been a tough search, but Sabatello adamantly explained his reasons for that approach.

“We’re very different and I just don’t like him in general,” Sabatello told MMA Junkie and other reporters at media day on Wednesday. “Also, obviously, if I’m going inside a cage with somebody, and we’re gonna go toe-to-toe and he’s gonna almost, potentially, maybe kill me, and I’m almost potentially, maybe gonna kill him, why the f*ck would I be this guy’s friend?”

Stots has not backed down in any of the heated verbal exchanges over the past few months in various interviews. But when asked how he would rate Stots’ smack talk, Sabatello promptly replied, “Negative 2.”

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Regardless of how he may feel about his opponent’s gift of gab, Sabatello is potentially on the verge of becoming a Bellator champion in just his fourth fight with the promotion, which would be a massive accomplishment for the 29-year-old ATT product.

“I’m getting f*cking chills just thinking about it,” Sabatello said. “It’s an absolutely dream come true. You know, all I want to be is just the best fighter on f*cking Earth, and I can obviously have that fortune to display my skillset in just two days and get it.

“Obviously, it’s a massive fight just in general. But to add to it, getting this f*cking belt, which by the way, is not for the interim f*cking belt. Sergio Pettis is not the champion of this division. Sergio Pettis is a p*ssy. He couldn’t even make it in the f*cking world grand prix. So right now, to me, Stots is the champion, and when I beat him, I will be the f*cking champion.”

Sabatello did have a rare compliment to offer about his opponent: he acknowledged that Stots is the best bantamweight in the division. That is, next to himself, of course.

The winner of Friday’s Bellator 289 main event will face the winner of Magomed Magomdeov vs. Patchy Mix in the grand prix final, a bout which takes place earlier on the main card.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.

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Raufeon Stots: Trash talk with Danny Sabatello ‘most competitive part’ of Bellator 289 matchup

Raufeon Stots has been enjoying the trash talk with Danny Sabatello ahead of Bellator 289.

NORWICH, Conn. – The trash talk between [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] and Danny Sabatello in the lead up to their main event matchup has been intense, but one side finds all of it humorous.

Interim Bellator bantamweight champion Stots (18-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) faces Sabatello (13-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) in the headliner of Bellator 289 on Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

While the competitors have engaged in a number of expletive-filled verbal exchanges since their fight was set, Stots has not let his bantamweight grand prix semifinal opponent get under his skin.

“I’ve been having fun the whole time,” Stots told MMA Junkie and other reporters at media day on Wednesday. “I just feel like this is gonna be the most competitive part. I feel like the fight is not gonna be very competitive. So, bring on all the trash talk ’cause that’s the more chips on the table and more things I get to throw in your face when I beat the sh*t out of you.”

Sabatello recently told MMA Junkie that he sees “straight fear” in Stots, and that pressure is all on on the interim champion’s shoulders. Undefeated in three fights with Bellator, Sabatello also believes he’s in Stots’ head as the moment of their big fight approaches. However, Stots feels the exact opposite.

“I think it works to my advantage,” Stots said about Sabatello assuming he has affected his mentality. “Because he must not understand my head how I think. I feel like I can turn on my viciousness, you know? Turn it off and on. I am ready and willing to put myself in a position to be very vicious this fight.

“… I don’t think he’s in my head as much as he thinks he is, but if he thinks I am, maybe I’m in his head. He don’t got a lot to think about. He said he go to sleep and think about me, so I’m sure I’m definitely in his head.”

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Stots became interim bantamweight champ by head kick knockout of Juan Archuleta in the third round at Bellator 279. Entering on a 10-fight winning streak, “Supa” is extremely confident in his abilities over his opponent’s, although he does give Sabatello some credit where it is due.

“I feel like I’m better than him everywhere,” Stots said. “The only place he poses a threat is wrestling, and that’s an edge. He probably edges me in wrestling. Anywhere else, I feel like I dominate him – if we were to do a jiu-jitsu match, if we were to do a striking match.

“If we were to a wrestling match, he might win by like a riding point – but to be honest, I feel like I’d beat the sh*t out of him, but I like to give my opponent the benefit of the doubt. Like, if I give him the benefit of the doubt, I’ll give him a point, maybe.”

The winner of the Bellator 289 main event will advance to the bantamweight grand prix final, where Stots or Sabatello will face the winner of Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov, which also takes place on Friday’s main card.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.

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Bellator 289 pre-event facts: Will Liz Carmouche stay unbeaten in Bellator?

Check out the numbers behind Friday’s Bellator 289 event, which features a pair of championship fights.

The final Bellator event of the year takes place Friday with Bellator 289, which goes down at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., with a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

A championship doubleheader sits atop the card. In the main event, interim bantamweight champion [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag]’ (18-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) will meet in a title fight that also doubles as a semifinal matchup in the promotion’s 135-pound grand prix.

The co-headliner, meanwhile, will see [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (17-7 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) attempt to make her first women’s flyweight title defense when she runs it back with [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA), whom she beat for the title in controversial fashion earlier this year.

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Bellator 289.

Patchy Mix expects to see Raufeon Stots in grand prix final: ‘Danny Sabatello is absolutely trash’

Patchy Mix envisions a Bellator bantamweight grand prix finale showdown against interim champion Raufeon Stots.

[autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] envisions a bantamweight grand prix finale showdown against [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag].

But first, Mix (16-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) has to get through Magomed Magomedov (19-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) at Bellator 289 on Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

On the other side of the bracket in the semifinals, interim champion Stots takes on Danny Sabatello, but Mix thinks Stots will make easy work of him.

“I’ve got much respect for Magomedov. He’s tough and I’ve got a lot of respect for his skill set,” Mix told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’m excited to go test my skill set against him. I hope to see Stots in the finale, granted he gets his job done, because he was talking like I was running from him.

“No matter what happens, I’m not running from him. I want to get that name on my record and Sabatello just is absolutely trash and he sucks, so I think he’ll be getting finished next Friday and he’s got to really work on his game.”

Mix already had a shot at the Bellator bantamweight title but fell short to Juan Archuleta in September 2020. He since has rebounded with three straight wins, including a decision win over former champ Kyoji Horiguchi in the grand prix quarterfinals.

“I added a lot of momentum and confidence after the Horiguchi fight,” Mix said. “So once I beat him, I realized I’m not waiting around no more. I want to win this whole thing. It was kind of nerve wracking for me in the beginning when all the names dropped and stuff like that, obviously because I took a hard defeat for the world title already. It took me just a little bit of momentum to have the belief I need to believe that I could beat all these guys, and I could beat them without a doubt.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.

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Bellator 289: Make your predictions for Stots-Sabatello, Carmouche-Velasquez

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 289 event in Connecticut.

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 289 event in Connecticut.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 289 main card staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. Bellator 289 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Make your picks for the fights below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.

Danny Sabatello sees ‘straight fear’ in Raufeon Stots: ‘He’s never been in a fight like this’

After facing off with Raufeon Stots multiple times, Danny Sabatello is convinced he has the mental edge in their Bellator 289 main event.

After facing off with [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] multiple times, [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] is convinced he has the mental edge.

Sabatello meets interim bantamweight champion Stots in the Bellator 289 main event Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Although Stots (18-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) has more experience on paper than Sabatello (13-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA), the brash 29-year-old thinks he’s in Stots’ head.

“I see straight fear in him,” Sabatello told MMA Junkie Radio. “Ever since my last fight against Leandro Higo, once that was done they brought Raufeon into the cage and I had my middle finger in his face for about five seconds before he actually did anything. I think he was absolutely stunned from there on out and every time I go with him and I see him face-to-face and he’s right next to me, he always has so much nervous energy.

“He’s never been in a fight like this. He’s never had this build-up to a fight. He’s never really talked trash like this before, so the stakes are a little bit higher for him. One thing with me is I believe in mental warfare and I believe in building the pressure because I think that’s when the best Danny Sabatello comes out, is when the light is brighter and there’s more pressure.”

Sabatello thinks that pressure is going to result in Stots trying to take him out early, which will cause him to fatigue.

“I think the lights are going to be a little too bright for him,” Sabatello said. “I think he’s going to be a little bit too heavy on his legs and his arms and he’s going to feel exhausted after one round just because of all that pressure mounting. Whenever you go up against a guy that you hate, and you’re in foreign territory, you just want to knock his f*cking head off.

“So I know he’s going to go out there in that first round and just want to finish me with all his might. But I’m a smart guy. I’m cool, I’m calm, I’m collected. This isn’t foreign territory to me. This is just another f*cking fight to me and I’ll be able to expose him once he gets dog tired.”

Their fight is one of two semifinals in the ongoing bantamweight grand prix. Patchy Mix faces Magomed Magomedov on the other side of the bracket. The winners will fight in the final sometime in 2023.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.

MMA Junkie Radio #3317: Guest Danny Sabatello, UFC on ESPN 42 recap, James Krause, Nate Diaz, more

Check out the latest edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”


Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,317, the guys bring on guest [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag], who challenges interim bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots in the Bellator 289 main event Friday. Their fight also is a grand prix semifinal. The boys also looked back at UFC on ESPN 42 and discussed the James Krause gambling controversy, Nate Diaz, Jake Paul and more. Tune in!

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.