Tag: Raufeon Stots

Raufeon Stots: Patchy Mix is best possible bantamweight grand prix final at Bellator 295

Raufeon Stots had no doubt he’d be in the position he’s in this week, but he’s a little surprised by who’s standing across from him.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] had no doubt he’d be in the position he’s in this week, but he’s a little surprised by who’s standing across from him.

Stots (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) won Bellator’s interim bantamweight title to start the promotion’s 135-pound grand prix with a knockout of Juan Archuleta. Then he defended it in the semifinals with a decision over Danny Sabatello.

On the other side of the bracket, Patchy Mix (17-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) outworked former champion Kyogi Horiguchi, then submitted Magomed Magomedov this past December to get to the final against Stots.

Now the two will fight for $1 million and Stots’ interim belt in the Bellator 295 main event Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

“(I didn’t) originally (think it would be Mix),” Stots told MMA Junkie at an open workout session for fans and the media at Royal Hawaiian Center in Honolulu. “I didn’t figure it. He’s been an underdog all the way through the tournament, but it’s still a point where you’ve got to respect Patchy.

“He’s a bad dude. He’s here for a reason. He’s f*cking got a lot to prove, also, so he’s definitely the right (opponent). I think this is the best (final) That could have been made. This is the two of the best bantamweights in the world, and we get to find out.”

The trash talk for Stots against Sabatello was at elite levels most of the way through the buildup to their fight. Mix hasn’t engaged as much in back-and-forths with Stots as Sabatello did, but he’s noticed.

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Still, though Stots has talked quite a bit, he said he has a different level of respect for Mix compared to Sabatello.

“I’ve got a lot respect for Patchy’s skill set,” Stots said. “So I do – I respect him more than I did Danny Sabatello. But I think that plays into my favor because he comes with a skill set that I need to be aware of. So I came well-prepared. I wasn’t so prepared when I fought Sabaatello – I didn’t bring in any wrestlers. I didn’t prepare. I didn’t think he was a danger. He proved me wrong. I still beat his ass, but he held out a lot longer than I thought.

“This one, I know I’m coming in ready. I know I’m prepared. I’m prepared for the toughest Patchy Mix, and I feel like I’m the best in the world. I’m prepared to prove that Saturday.”

The Stots-Mix winner will fight the winner of former two-division champion Patricio Freire, who is moving to bantamweight from featherweight to try to win a title in a third division when he takes on champ Sergio Pettis in June.

Check out Stots’ full interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

How to watch Bellator 295: Who’s fighting, lineup, start time, broadcast info

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Bellator 295, featuring the bantamweight grand prix final of Raufeon Stots vs. Patchy Mix.

For the fourth time since 2018, Bellator is back in Hawaii this week for back-to-back shows.

Here’s how to watch Bellator 295, with a complete lineup and look at the top fights.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 294.

Raufeon Stots vs. Patchy Mix grand prix final headlines Bellator 295 on April 22 in Hawaii

The Bellator bantamweight grand prix will reach its conclusion in April when Raufeon Stots and Patchy Mix square off in the cage.

The Bellator bantamweight grand prix will reach its conclusion in April.

Interim bantamweight champion [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) is set to meet [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) in the tournament final, which headlines Bellator 295  on April 22 at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, the second event of a two-night doubleheader.

A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. KHON2 was first to report the news.

With reigning bantamweight champ Sergio Pettis out of the grand prix due to injury, an interim title was on the line when Stots faced Juan Archuleta in the quarterfinals at Bellator 279. Stots won with a knockout and went on to edge out Danny Sabatello in the semifinals this past December.

Mix defeated former bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi in the quarterfinals followed by a submission of Magomed Magomedov in the semifinals at Bellator 289 to punch his grand prix finale ticket against Stots.

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The current Bellator 295 lineup includes:

  • Raufeon Stots vs. Patchy Mix
  • Adil Edwards vs. Kai Kamaka III
  • Charlie Leary vs. Yancy Medeiros
  • Ilima Lei-Macfarlane vs. opponent TBD
  • Keoni Diggs vs. opponent TBD
  • Sumiko Inaba vs. opponent TBD

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

15 best fight bookings of 2022 that got away due to injuries, weight issues, and more

Check out these highly anticipated matchups in 2022 that fell through due to various issues outside of the cage.

Fight bookings throughout 2022 were not ravaged by COVID-19 like the year before, but a number of key matchups still never made it to the cage.

Unfortunate injuries occurred in training camp, and in two instances, after weigh-ins, leading to last-minute scheduling changes and late bout scratches.

From entertaining veteran matchups to top contender bouts and title fight rematches, MMA lost some incredible fights this year due to various reasons.

Take a look below at some of the biggest pairings and why they did not go ahead as planned (in order of scheduled date).

Doug Crosby’s 50-45 Danny Sabatello scorecard in Raufeon Stots’ Bellator 289 win under scrutiny

It appears there may be some behind-the-scenes fallout from Raufeon Stots’ Bellator 289 main event over Danny Sabatello.

It appears there may be some behind-the-scenes fallout from the Bellator 289 main event.

[autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) beat [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) with a split decision this past Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Stots went into the fight as the interim bantamweight champion and retained that belt with the win. He also moved on to the $1 million final of Bellator’s 135-pound grand prix tournament.

Stots’ win might not have been a huge surprise on paper – he was the betting favorite. But the wide disparity of scores had just about every observer scratching their heads. Stots got 48-47 scores from judges Eric Colon and Bryan Miner. But judge Doug Crosby gave the fight to Sabatello – and gave him all five rounds for a 50-45 score.

And that 50-45 score apparently was enough to trigger Mike Mazzulli, the commission director for the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulations, to schedule a review of the fight with all three judges. The news first was reported by MMA Fighting.

“After reviewing the fight, three rounds of the five rounds were extremely close and the other two were marginally close rounds,” Mazzulli said, according to the report. “One judge had Sabatello winning all five rounds, which is controversial. But ultimately Stots won the decision, which is the correct result. In an effort to make this a learning moment, I have informed all three judges we will be reviewing the fight together.

“This is a very serious situation. The Mohegan Tribe Athletic Department always looks out for the best interests of all fighters. In the past the Mohegan Tribe Athletic Department has sanctioned officials that are not performing to the level that is required. Such sanctions, when they occur, are not made public.”

After he judged the Bellator 289 main event Friday, Crosby flew across the country Saturday and was one of the judges for Paddy Pimblett’s controversial unanimous decision win over Jared Gordon in the UFC 282 co-main event in Las Vegas. In that fight, all three judges scored the bout for Pimblett – much to the disbelief of the majority of observers, some of whom have said Pimblett’s win not only was the biggest robbery of 2022, but could be the most unjust decision in UFC history.

After Bellator 289, Sabatello was calm, but livid at the scoring and said he didn’t understand how he could get a 50-45 score and win all five rounds, but still lose the fight. Conversely, Stots didn’t understand how Crosby gave Sabatello all five rounds. And Bellator president Scott Coker, too, was perplexed by Crosby’s scorecard.

The morning after Bellator 289, MMADecisions.com reported on Twitter that the 50-45 scorecard for Sabatello was the first time in the site’s lengthy history of tracking fights that the loser of a bout got a 50-45 score in his favor.

MMA Decisions highlights when individual judges’ scores are in the minority in a fight. So far in 2022, Crosby has been a part of 56 decisions in fights under the Bellator, UFC and PFL banners. He has been the dissenting opinion of three judges in 12.5 percent of those fights. That’s the highest percentage of any judge in 2022, but it should be noted that in 2021, Crosby only had the dissenting opinion in one of 46 fights.

Sabatello had more than 10 minutes of ground control time in the fight compared to less than a minute of control time for Stots, but Stots outstruck Sabatello by a wide margin.

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

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Spinning Back Clique: UFC 282 judging controversies, Bellator grand prix, more

Join us for this week’s live stream of “Spinning Back Clique” looking at the biggest news and topics in MMA.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Farah Hannoun will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

  • The UFC 282 main event was supposed to crown a new light heavyweight champion. Instead, a lackluster fight resulted in a split draw – and the title stayed vacant. An upset Dana White moved on from former champ [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] and [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] and now will put the title up for ex-champ [autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag] and [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag]. We react to a crazy scenario.
  • In the UFC 282 co-main event, [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] won his fight against Jared Gordon. But very few people concurred with the judges’ scorecards, and many people already have called his win one of the year’s biggest robberies. Did his stock drop despite the win?
  • UFC 282, prior to the co-main and main events, featured 10 straight finishes – and all 10 of those fighters got $50,000 bonuses. So of all of them, who was the biggest star of the card?
  • For the first time, [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] went home with a loss at UFC 282. [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag]’s struggles continued. Pimblett won in controversial fashion. Across the country at Bellator 289 the night before, [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] got a 50-45 scorecard in his favor, but lost his fight to Raufeon Stots. Whose star power took the biggest hit this past weekend?
  • Bellator’s bantamweight grand prix has its finalists: Interim champ [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] and [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] will meet sometime in 2023 with Stots’ belt on the line and $1 million for the winner. The winner also will set up a title unification bout with Sergio Pettis, who said he’s ready to return from knee surgery. Has the tournament played out well for Bellator?

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.

Bellator 289 post-event facts: Underdogs shine on final card of 2022

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 289, which took place Friday and saw a number of significant betting upsets.

Bellator put on its 17th and final event of the year on Friday with Bellator 289, which took place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Two champions defended their titles at the top of the card. In the main event, [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) edged [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) by split decision in their grudge match to defend interim bantamweight gold and advance to the finals of the promotion’s grand prix.

The co-headliner saw [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (18-7 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) earn a second consecutive win over [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA), this time without controversy as she scored a second-round submission to defend women’s flyweight gold.

For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 289.

Scott Coker says Raufeon Stots-Patchy Mix tournament final should happen in first few months of 2023

Bellator’s bantamweight grand prix final is set, but it wasn’t without a little controversy.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Bellator’s bantamweight grand prix final is set, but it wasn’t without a little controversy.

Danny Sabatello (13-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) was less than thrilled with his split decision loss to interim champion [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) in the Bellator 289 main event Friday. The one scorecard in Sabatello’s favor read 50-45 – a shutout. But the other two were 48-47s for Stots.

Sabatello had more than 10 minutes of ground control time in the fight. But it was Stots who is moving on to a matchup with Friday’s other semifinal winner, [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA), who choked out [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] (19-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA).

“It’s tough being a judge. The 50-45, I don’t know where that came from,” Coker told MMA Junkie. “To me, it could’ve went either way. But Stots is moving forward in our tournament, fighting Patchy Mix, which is going to be an unbelievable fight. … We’re going to have a great finals.”

The Stots-Mix winner will get a $1 million check and will have the interim bantamweight belt. From there, a title unification fight awaits with champ Sergio Pettis, who is out rehabbing after a major knee surgery.

Coker said he hopes Bellator can wrap up the bantamweight grand prix pretty quickly into the start of 2023.

“We’re going to have to see who’s injured, who’s not injured, and that’s going to determine when they fight,” Coker said. “We want them to be healthy, fresh and ready to go and not just training through injuries or having to cut weight too quick from this fight.

“We’re going to talk to all the managers Monday and see how everybody’s feeling and then we’ll decide when we throw that fight. Our goal is to get that fight done in the first quarter if we can.”

Check out Coker’s full post-event interview in the video above.

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

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Danny Sabatello flabbergasted by scores in Bellator 289 loss to Raufeon Stots: ‘I don’t know how the f*ck I lost that fight’

Danny Sabatello took umbrage with earning a 50-45 score from one judge but still losing a split decision to Raufeon Stots at Bellator 289.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – When he heard [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] announced as the winner of their Bellator bantamweight grand prix semifinal, [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] stormed out of the cage. It wouldn’t have been a surprise if Sabatello ditched the Bellator 289 post-event news conference, but he didn’t.

He had some things to get off his chest.

“Pissed off,” Sabatello told reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage at Mohegan Sun Arena. “I think I won that fight. My team thinks I won that fight. Obviously I take full responsibility for the loss. Anytime you lose a decision, you could’ve obviously stopped the other guy and won by stoppage whether it’s by KO or submission.”

Sabatello lost a split decision to interim champ Stots (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), who will move on to the $1 million final against Patchy Mix. The fight was the culmination of a heated build-up filled with trash talk from both men. For that reason alone, the loss would sting Sabatello. Making the feeling worse was the judges’ scorecards, with two judges awarding Stots 48-47 while one scored it 50-45 in favor of Sabatello.

“I don’t know how the f*ck I lost that fight,” Sabatello said. “I think the judges f*cked this one. I don’t know how one judge has it 50-45, I won every single f*cking round, and then the guy sitting next to him has me lose a close fight. Doesn’t f*cking make sense to me.”

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Unofficially, Sabatello had more than 10 minutes of mat control to Stots controlling less than a minute, which is a big reason why Sabatello believes he won. Stots, however, was the more effective striker by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. How much damage he did may be up for debate – or not, if you asked Sabatello.

“I don’t have a bump or a bruise on me,” Sabatello said. “I am perfectly fine. He never f*cking hit my face. Again, it’s very frustrating, because I think I won that fight. But again, I do take full responsibility.”

Despite the outcome, Sabatello isn’t disheartened about his future.

“Regardless of how I view what happened with the outcome of that fight, I still go back to the f*cking best gym in the world in American Top Team and go balls to the wall and train and keep striving to get that f*cking belt,” Sabatello said. “I’m young. I only started MMA about four years ago, I got in Bellator a year ago, and I already got this title shot. Obviously it’s a very bright future for me. This is just a little speed bump. I’m gonna be motivated no matter what. …

“I still think I’m the best f*cking bantamweight in the world. I still know that I f*cking won that fight. It’s become a sport where you’re just trying to trick three f*cking judges, and that’s it. Doesn’t matter how anyone else sees the fight. It’s just three f*cking people that don’t even know what they’re looking at.”

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

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Raufeon Stots satisfied with Bellator 289 win over Sabatello, looking forward to Mix’s challenge

Raufeon Stots had a pretty good idea of how he’d bid farewell – for now – to his rivalry with Danny Sabatello if he won at Bellator 289.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] had a pretty good idea of how he’d bid farewell – for now – to his rivalry with Danny Sabatello if he won at Bellator 289.

Win, Stots did, in the main event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. But the result, a split decision, may be debated by some people for a while.

Stots (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) beat Sabatello (13-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) with a pair of 48-47 scores to not only defend his interim bantamweight title, but move into the grand prix final. A third judge scored all five rounds for Sabatello, who had more than 10 minutes of ground control time in the fight.

Stots said the amount of trash talk and beef that had built up between the two of them for the past nearly half-year made the win a little more gratifying – and is what led to him getting on the microphone in the cage to drop one final F-bomb in Sabatello’s direction while he left the arena floor.

“I’m satisfied I got the win, but I wanted to get that motherf*cker out of there,” Stots told MMA Junkie after the fight. “I wanted to cause a little more damage. I definitely got to see the look I was looking for – like, he wasn’t ready for the pain that I was going to bring him. So yeah, I guess that was the most satisfying (win of my career), given the talk … I’m glad to be the one to shut him up for a little bit. I feel like if I would have finished him, it would have shut his mouth for a longer time. But he’s going to be mad, and I can sleep well at night knowing that.”

Stots moved on to the bantamweight tournament final, which Bellator president Scott Coker said likely will take place the first quarter of 2023. He’ll meet Patchy Mix (17-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA), who choked out Magomed Magomedov (19-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) in the other Friday semifinal fight.

The tournament winner will get $1 million – and also will move on to a bantamweight title unification fight with champ Sergio Pettis, who has been out rehabbing after knee surgery. Stots and Pettis are former teammates who trained together at Roufusport in Milwaukee.

Stots said the matchup with Mix is one he’s excited about given Mix’s recent resume with a win over ex-champ Kyoji Horiguchi and his Friday finish of Magomedov.

“I’m looking forward to that fight, actually, because he’s proven himself to be among the greats,” Stots said. “He beat Horiguchi. He beat Magomed, who I also have a win over. I would say he’s deserving of the spot, and I’m actually looking forward to putting my fist through that gap in his teeth.”

Check out Stots’ full post-fight interview in the video above.

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

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