Tag: Raufeon Stots

Video: Ex-Bellator champ Raufeon Stots taps Marcos Breno on PFL: Battle of the Giants prelims

It was far from a walk in the park for the former titleholder, but Raufeon Stots got another highlight for his reel.

It was far from a walk in the park for the former titleholder, but [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] got another highlight for his reel.

Stots (21-2) closed out the PFL: Battle of the Giants prelims with a third-round submission of [autotag]Marcos Breno[/autotag] (15-4) in their bantamweight bout Saturday at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Stots’

Stots was tested on the feet in the first round, and Breno, despite being a heavy underdog, had more than his share of moments. In the second, Stots settled in a bit, particularly in the ground game. And that continued in the third, when Stots was able to take Breno’s back with a rear-naked choke.

It didn’t take long after Stots fell back with it for Breno to tap, no doubt knowing the choke was deep.

Stots, a former Bellator interim bantamweight champ, got his first submission in more than four years.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.

Raufeon Stots calls fight with Marcos Breno the ‘Temu version’ of Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira

Raufeon Stots expects his fight with Marcos Breno to serve as an appetizer for the PFL: Battle of the Giants main event.

[autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] expects his fight with [autotag]Marcos Breno[/autotag] to serve as an appetizer for the PFL: Battle of the Giants main event.

Bantamweights Stots (20-2) and Breno (15-3) throw down in Saturday’s featured prelim at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with the main card on ESPN+/DAZN pay-per-view.

Having fought the likes of Patchy Mix, Danny Sabatello, and Juan Archuleta, Breno is a far less notable name for Stots. However, the 35-year-old is fully aware of the scenario that could play out, so he won’t underestimate him.

“I think he sees this as a big opportunity to make a name for himself right away and to erase that stink from his last performance off,” Stots told MMA Junkie Radio on Breno. “I think the trash talk kind of got the best of him this last fight, so I think he’s going to come in guns blazing. He’s got power in his hands. He’s a Brazilian (jiu-jitsu) black belt. He’s just a guy that hasn’t been around as long.”

Stots thinks his fight with Breno is the featured prelim for a reason. He plans on getting the fans excited for the main card, and give them a small preview of the night’s main event between [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] and [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag].

“If you look at the fight, the fight is kind of a Temu version of the main event fight with Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira,” Stots said. “I’m a veteran African like Francis, and he’s a young, powerhouse Brazilian.

“So I think that’s why they wanted me on that featured prelim. They wanted me to showcase and get the people interested and be like, ‘It’s going to be a big barnburner.’ They’re the big giants, we’re the little giants.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.

PFL releases full fight card for Battle of the Giants: Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira

Check out the full fight card headlined by Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira.

PFL is pegging Battle of the Giants to be one of its biggest events of the year – and now a full fight card has been revealed.

On Thursday, the promotion announced its finalized 10-fight lineup including a handful of notable names as new additions. The event takes place Oct. 19 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with the main card on ESPN+/DAZN pay-per-view.

In the main event, former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] returns to MMA after a two-fight boxing stint to take on [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag]. In the co-main event, [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] and [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] finally meet in a highly-anticipated showdown.

Also on the main card, Bellator middleweight champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] defends his title in a rematch vs. [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag], and [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] meets [autotag]Paul Hughes[/autotag] in a lightweight bout.

The new additions announced Tuesday include a main card clash between [autotag]Husein Kadimagomaev[/autotag] and [autotag]Zafar Mohsen[/autotag], as well as a rescheduled bantamweight bout between [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] and [autotag]Marcos Breno[/autotag].

Additional bouts include [autotag]Makkasharip Zaynukov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dedrek Sanders[/autotag], [autotag]Ibragim Ibragimov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nacho Campos[/autotag], [autotag]Mostafa Nada[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ahmed Sami[/autotag], and [autotag]Youssef Al Housani[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Taha Bendaoud[/autotag].

The full PFL: Battle of the Giants lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (4 p.m. ET)

  • Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira
  • Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco
  • Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards – for Bellator middleweight title
  • Husein Kadimagomaev vs. Zafar Mohsen
  • Paul Hughes vs. A.J. McKee

PRELIMINARY CARD (1:30 p.m. ET)

  • Marcos Breno vs. Raufeon Stots
  • Dedrek Sanders vs. Makkasharip Zaynukov
  • Nacho Campos vs. Ibragim Ibragimov
  • Mostafa Nada vs. Ahmed Sami
  • Youssef Al Housani vs. Taha Bendaoud

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.

Bellator adds Lorenz Larkin, Raufeon Stots to San Diego event

Bellator is set to hold its first domestic event of 2024, and some notable names are on the bill.

Bellator is headed back to San Diego this fall and is bringing some notable names with it.

The Bellator Champions Series event takes place Sept. 7 at Pechanga Arena with the main card on MAX after prelims on MMA Junkie.

In the co-main event, [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] battles rising Brazilian fighter [autotag]Marcos Breno[/autotag] in a bantamweight affair. Also on the card, former UFC standout [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] (26-8) faces Georgian [autotag]Levan Chokheli[/autotag] (13-2).

Those two bouts were first reported by the OC Register and confirmed to MMA Junkie by a promotion official.

Stots bounced back from his first Bellator loss, a knockout against Patchy Mix, when he for the second time defeated rival Danny Sabtello by unanimous decision in November.

Breno also most recently competed against Sabatello. In April, Sabatello submitted him by rear-naked choke. The fight was his second in Bellator after a unanimous decision win over Josh Hill.

Larkin competed in June when he defeated Alan Dominguez by first-round knockout. The victory bounced him back into the win column after a split decision defeat to Andrey Koreshkov.

Chokheli has not competed since September 2023 when he extended his winning streak to three with a highlight reel kick knockout against Sabah Homasi.

With the additions, the Bellator Champions Series: San Diego lineup includes:

  • Champion Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Alexander Shabliy
  • Marcos Breno vs. Raufeon Stots
  • Levan Chokheli vs. Lorenz Larkin

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator Champions Series: San Diego.

Magomed Magomedov plots ‘Year of Revenge’ with first stop Patchy Mix: ‘With one shot I can kill both rabbits

Magomed Magomedov plans to kill two birds with one stone, or as they apparently say in Russia, kill two rabbits with one shot.

[autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] came up short the first time, but as he sees it, things have changed.

Second chances don’t always come, but Friday at Bellator Champions Series: Paris, Magomedov (20-3) will get one as he rematches bantamweight champion [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (19-1) at Accor Arena in Paris.

“Honestly, this is perfect scenario for me, so with one shot I can kill both rabbits, right?” Magomedov told reporters through an interpreter at a virtual news conference Tuesday. “I can get my revenge and also get the Bellator title, the one that all the fighters are looking at.”

The double opportunity Magomedov sees is half-title shot and half-vengeance. Magomedov and Mix fought in a non-title grand prix bout in December 2022. Mix put Magomedov to sleep with a guillotine choke in Round 2.

This time, Magomedov predicts a different outcome. He thinks he himself has improved, while Mix has remained the same.

“The whole preparation and training camp was totally different, rather than the first one. One thing I can gaurantee is that in the cage you’ll see another tiger, not the one you saw before with Patchy Mix. This, I can promise.”

“I think you will see a more aggressive Magomed who will push the pace and move forward. I have tuned myself for the five-round fight. It’s actually not going to be a fight. It’s going to be a brawl.”

“After our last fight, he made two more wins. I’m sure he’ll get more confident. On the mental side, he’s more confident. Stylistically and technical-wise, I believe he’s the same. Nothing much has changed for him.”

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Should he walk away from Friday’s bout with championship gold, Magomedov hopes the stars align to keep the revenge tour going. Top contender [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (20-2) is the other man to hold a Bellator win over Magomedov, who hopes to make it two-for-two in rematches under the promotion’s banner.

“Well, if everything went perfect in this fight, I would love to have my first title defense with Raufeon, as you mentioned,” Magomedov said. “The same thing. I have to defend my title, but if the title defense is going to be a fight that I can avenge my loss, that’ll be ideal. Let’s say 2024 I’m setting the goal that it will be the ‘Year of Revenge.'”

“… I think (a title fight) is the last step on the ladder that I’m walking on. It’s kind of like winning an Olympic game to get this title. This is the goal of professional athletes and professional fighters. This night and this belt will be the thrill of my career.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event page for Bellator Champions Series: Paris.

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for November: UFC 295 slugfest ends in a draw

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.

Nominees

Raufeon Stots after Bellator 301: Beating Danny Sabatello again ‘like the best Christmas present ever’

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.

Bellator 301 results: Raufeon Stots beats Danny Sabatello in thriller, rubs it in during post-fight interview

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.

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.

Raufeon Stots: I’ll get a bigger crowd pop than Danny Sabatello in his Chicago home city

Former interim bantamweight champ Raufeon Stots thinks the fans in Chicago don’t really like their hometown fighter, Danny Sabatello.

CHICAGO – [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] is reasonably sure he’s not going to be in enemy territory Friday in Chicago.

Eleven months ago, Stots took a split decision from Sabatello at Bellator 289 and won the interim bantamweight title. The buildup to their fight was filled with all kinds of heat, and it hasn’t let up – to the point they’re rematching less than a year later, and the winner likely will move into the No. 1 contender spot for the winner of Friday’s co-main event between champ Sergio Pettis and interim champ Patchy Mix, who knocked out Stots in April.

But even though Sabatello hails from the North Side of Chicago and will be fighting at home for the first time in his career, Stots thinks he’s going to have a better response from the “Windy City” fans than his heated and hated rival, who will be looking to rebound from a submission loss to Magomed Magomedov in Japan.

“It’s pretty funny it’s his home town, but I think I’m going to get a bigger pop from the crowd than him,” Stots told Sabatello when he spoke to MMA Junkie and other media members at the pre-fight media day for Bellator 301. “I believe everyone in your home town hates you. It’s funny you mention Patchy and me because in your last fight, you tapped like a b*tch (to Magomedov) and ran out like when you fought me the last time. It’s going to be 2-0 Stots come Friday night.”

Stots (19-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) talked about that matchup, his rivalry with Sabatello (14-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) and more at the pre-fight media day for Bellator 301.

Check out Stots’ 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.

Video: Will Bellator 301 be the promotion’s curtain call?

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.