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With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2023.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from November 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for November.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
Raufeon Stots thoroughly enjoyed his second win over Danny Sabatello, so much that he’s even willing to have a trilogy after Bellator 301.
CHICAGO – [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] would love to run things back with new Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix. Then again, if a trilogy with [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] got offered to him, it’d be hard for him to turn it down.
Or so that’s how Stots’ thinking went after he beat Sabatello by unanimous decision in a thriller Friday night at Bellator 301. The result means Stots now owns two victories over Sabatello after he claimed split decision in the Bellator bantamweight grand prix last December.
The buildup to both fights has produced a lot of heat between Stots and Sabatello. That explains why Stots thoroughly enjoyed his second win over Sabatello, so much that he gloated on the microphone when addressing the Wintrust Arena crowd after the fight – and continued to relish the win during his post-fight news conference.
“I’m gonna say this over and over again: Anytime I can punch Danny Sabatello in the mouth, I’m gonna take that opportunity,” Stots told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “I don’t know how many more opportunities I’m gonna get like that. For me to beat him and then beat him again just speaks to my skill level and my confidence in myself.”
Stots later said that he’d like a rematch with Mix, who choked out Sergio Pettis to unify the 135-pound title at Bellator 301. Knocking out Stots in 80 seconds this past April is how Mix became interim champ and won the promotion’s grand prix to earn his shot at Pettis, with whom Stots is teammates.
“Congratulations to Patchy. I’ve made it clear that I would like that rematch with Patchy,” Stots said. “I know that I can perform better, and I can prepare better. I made some changes in my camp, no fault of anybody’s, but I know that I can have a better performance if I fight him again. Me and Patchy talked about it; we have to do it again. …
“Congratulations to Patchy. I’m heartfelt for my boy Sergio. He’s a true champion. But yeah, I want that fight again. It kind of makes me mad seeing him there. He deserves it, did everything he’s supposed to do, but I would like that chance to face him again.”
Still, though, Stots left the door open for another go-round with Sabatello even though he’s 2-0 against him and should probably focus on bigger things. And why? Because he loves to see Sabatello miserable.
“If I talk sh*t and you still got something to say, I don’t really care,” Stots said. “It really don’t do me no good to punch Danny, but the satisfaction of watching him bleed or watching him when I dropped him, that’s like the best Christmas present ever. Watching the panic in his eyes and blood drip down his face, that’s like Christmas came early this year. No matter how many times I beat him up, if he’s got something to say, I’ll beat him up again.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.
Raufeon Stots got under the skin of Danny Sabatello after a thrilling back-and-forth bout at Bellator 301.
[autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] and [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] fought for the second time, Friday at Bellator 301. The winner was the same as in the first bout, but the fight itself was a vastly different affair.
The three-round bantamweight bout was part of the main card at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Stots (19-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) defeated Sabatello (14-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Unlike the first meeting 11 months prior, Stots vs. Sabatello 2 provided thrilling scrambles, high-offensive output, and momentum swings. Sabatello let his hands and feet go – and even started the bout with a jumping knee.
Sabatello’s takedowns and sweeps also proved to be a major weapon, but Stots often reversed position. Both men found themselves in advantageous positions on the ground. In Round 3, Stots dropped Sabatello with a two-punch combination.
🗣 @RaufeonStots has the final laugh over Danny Sabatello.#Bellator301 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/BqaIhgkKVr
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 18, 2023
Much to the dismay of Sabatello and his home city crowd, Stots walked away the winner – again. During the in-cage interview with color commentator “Big” John McCarthy, Stots taunted Sabatello and asked him to come back in the cage to shake hands. Sabatello was visibly taken aback by Stots prodding, but was eventually ushered into the back by promotion and commission staff.
The long-standing rivalry extends even prior to their first fight, which took place at Bellator 289 in December 2022. The five-round bout was part of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix and turned out to be a lackluster, control-heavy affair that Stots won by split decision.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 301 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.
Danny Sabatello found himself in position to defend his upbringing when called out by Raufeon Stots ahead of Bellator 301 in Chicago.
CHICAGO – [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] was born in Chicago and grew up on the North Side of the city.
But Wednesday, he found himself in position to have to defend his origin story when his bitter rival Raufeon Stots said he didn’t grow up in the kind of rough-and-tumble streets of Chicago that would make his “Italian Gangster” name appropriate. Instead, Stots said he’s from the suburbs, dresses too “metrosexual” to be tough, and generally is too pretty.
Sabatello thinks Stots, who beat him by split decision 11 months ago to win the interim bantamweight title, which he lost to Patchy Mix in April when Mix won the $1 million grand prix, is worried about what changes he’ll have made this time around to show his home fans.
“I don’t feel pressure at all,” Sabatello told MMA Junkie and other media members at the pre-fight media day for Bellator 301. “I did win the last fight with Raufeon, but now we’re in my backyard in Chicago – it’s going to be different now. It’s a dream matchup. When Bellator gave me the call about this fight, I was surprised he was awake after Patchy Mix knocked him out. But since he was awake, I took the fight. It’s really good because we hate each other. He hates me because I’m ridiculously good-looking. We’ll figure it out Friday night.
“This fight, I’m going to have much more volume compared to last fight. Everyone knows I dominated this guy last fight, and I’m going to do the same this fight. Look at the betting odds for this fight and you’ll see I’m the favorite. I’lll be kicking, punching and elbowing him the whole fight. I see myself finishing the fight this time around.”
Sabatello (14-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) talked about has changes, the rivalry with Stots (19-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) and more at the pre-fight media day for Bellator 301.
Check out Sabatello’s full interview in the video above ahead of the event, which takes place Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.
Will there be a Bellator 302? Our “Spinning Back Clique” breaks down what could be the final event in Bellator 301.
If Bellator 301 is the final event for the promotion, there are some solid matchups to go out on.
The event taking place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago brings a pair of title fights along with a few other intriguing matchups. In the main event, [autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] puts his welterweight title on the line against [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag]. In the co-feature, [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] in a bantamweight title unification bout.
Also on the card is a heated rivalry matchup between [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] and former interim bantamweight champ [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag]. Former featherweight champion A.J. McKee also is in action against Sidney Outlaw. Rounding out the main card is a lightweight grand prix semifinal bout between Patricky Freire and Alexander Shabliy.
These are solid matchups on paper, but the event doesn’t seem to have the same buzz around it as the promotion’s previous event. Is it because the promotion’s future beyond this event is uncertain? Will there be a Bellator 302?
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Nolan King and Brian “Goze” Garcia answered those questions with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.
You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode on YouTube below.
Check out the faceoffs from Bellator 301 media day in Chicago, where Yaroslav Amosov and Jason Jackson had a friendly encounter.
CHICAGO – Bellator 301 media day took place Wednesday with all 10 main-card fighters in attendance, and MMA Junkie was on the scene for the festivities and faceoffs that ensued at the host hotel.
The main event features welterweight champion [autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] defending his title against [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag]. And in the co-main event, champ [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] and interim champ [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] will meet to unify the bantamweight title.
Three other fights are featured on the main card: A rematch between bantamweight contenders [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] and [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag]; former featherweight champ [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] in a lightweight grand prix alternate bout; and a lightweight grand prix semifinal between [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] and [autotag]Alexander Shabiliy[/autotag].
After each matchup’s fighters fielded questions from reporters, they came together for faceoffs, which you can watch in the video above.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.
All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Sept. 11-17.
Bellator president Scott Coker still sees plenty of potential in bantamweight Danny Sabatello, who lost for the second time in three fights.
[autotag]Scott Coker[/autotag] still sees plenty of potential in [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag].
Sabatello (14-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) was submitted by Magomed Magomedov (20-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in this first round this past Saturday at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, near Tokyo.
The brash 30-year-old American Top Team fighter has now lost two of his past three, but Coker doesn’t think his stock dropped too much.
“He’s a young kid with tremendous talent,” Coker said at the Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 post-fight press conference. “We have a lot of high hopes for his future fighting in Bellator. He had a very tough opponent with Magomed Magomedov, but the loss doesn’t make me feel like he’s going to be any less of a fighter. He’s a young kid. We’re going to continue to help build his career, and hopefully he’ll come back very shortly.”
Sabatello released a statement on social media after the loss, and vows to reach his title goal eventually.
“What a brutal game. It’s what makes it so beautiful. One blink of the eye and it’s death. Sharp for every second or enjoy regret. My run to the belt is about to be special.”
What a brutal game. It’s what makes it so beautiful. One blink of the eye and it’s death. Sharp for every second or enjoy regret. My run to the belt is about to be special.
— Danny Sabatello (@ShockThisWorld) July 30, 2023
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator x Rizin 2.
Danny Sabatello is not sold on Magomed Magomedov, but sees him as his ticket to a Bellator bantamweight title shot.
[autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] is not sold on [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag], but sees him as his ticket to a title shot.
Sabatello (14-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) meets Magomedov (19-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) on Saturday’s Bellator X Rizin 2 main card, which takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event airs live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET.
Winner of eight of his past nine, Sabatello is expecting a title shot with a win over Magomedov. But with bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis’ title unification bout with interim champ Patchy Mix yet to be booked, Sabatello will stay active if he has to.
“There’s a reason why I called out for this fight against Magomed,” Sabatello told reporters at a Bellator X Rizin 2 news conference Thursday. “First off, a lot of people think he’s good. He’s got a big name. I personally think he sucks. The good thing about this fight is that he’s one notch above me in the rankings, so I think after I get this win, I should be fighting for the belt.
“But one thing I do is I fight, and I don’t like sitting on my ass. I know Patchy and Pettis are not scheduled to fight yet. That’s probably because Pettis is milking some bullsh*t injury like he always f*cking does because he doesn’t like to fight because he’s a p*ssy. So if that fight does get booked soon, then I think I should be next in line for the title. But I am going to fight after this fight before getting that title shot if that fight doesn’t come to fruition for a while. I do like this fight. I think it catapults me to a title fight, barring Pettis being a p*ssy.”
While Sabatello would love a quick finish, he plans on dragging Magomedov to deep waters.
“I want to torture him first,” Sabatello said. “I always say that in all my fights. I don’t want to give my opponents the easy way out. Especially if they’ve been talking a little bit of trash, I need to punish them for that. I also want to put on a very good show for Tokyo.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator x Rizin 2.
All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from June 5-11.
