Tag: Raufeon Stots

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.

Raufeon Stots: Danny Sabatello’s whole game is a facade, probably ‘most one-dimensional fighter’ in Bellator

“He’s probably the most one-dimensional fighter that Bellator has but he does a good job of making people forget that.”

[autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] has nothing to offer but wrestling.

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

Stots (18-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) thinks Sabatello (13-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) has done a good job of marketing himself, but doesn’t see any threat from him outside of his wrestling.

“The dude is literally a wrestler and his whole game is a facade – even the way he talks,” Stots told MMA Junkie Radio. “He’s probably the most one-dimensional fighter that Bellator has, but he does a good job of making people forget that. That’s his whole facade, is like, ‘I’m coming here to crush this guy. I want to hate this guy,’ but then you’re going to go in there and you’re going to cuddle somebody’s goddamn legs the whole f*cking five rounds.

“That’s what you’re going to do. I know that’s all he’s doing, so he don’t rank very high for me. I think he’s one of the easiest opponents I’m going to have to date just because you don’t see very many one-dimensional fighters. He’s a smart one-dimensional fighter, but he’s still a one-dimensional fighter.”

There’s no shortage of bad blood between both fighters. Sabatello thinks he’s in Stots’ head, but Stots is using all the trash talk to fuel him. He is relishing the opportunity to get his hands on Sabatello and sees double incentive in beating him in Bellator’s grand prix semifinals.

“This is amazing for me,” Stots said. “Not only do I get to talk sh*t and clown on this dude that I don’t like, but also I get to be the one who shuts his mouth, which is extra motivation.”

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

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Spinning Back Clique: James Krause betting scandal, UFC Orlando, Nate Diaz-Jake Paul, 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, Nolan King and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

  • UFC on ESPN 42 in Orlando, Fla., featured nine stoppages in 14 fights and a main event that had people talking about a potential Fight of the Year. With a couple days to reflect, was [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag]’s TKO win over [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] in the main event really that level of greatness? And what are our other takeaways from a memorable event?
  • The you-know-what continues to hit the proverbial fan in the MMA betting scandal involving former UFC standout [autotag]James Krause[/autotag]. The UFC now has said anyone who continues to train with Krause or at his gym can consider themselves gone from the UFC while government investigations are going on. What could the potential fallout be from all this down the road?
  • [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] officially is out from his UFC contract and a free agent. We used to get excited thinking about potential Diaz fights outside the UFC. Now that we’re here, are we amped up about, say, a Diaz boxing match against [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag]?
  • UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] said on his podcast that former two-division champ and Olympic gold medalist [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] will be his next title defense, likely in March. Cejudo is coming out of retirement and straight into a title shot, if that’s the case. Is that right? And what do we think about [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]’s status in the division now?
  • Bellator continues its bantamweight grand prix this week with the semifinals: interim champ [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] and [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] meets [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag]. The Stots-Sabatello fight comes with a particular amount of hype and beef between the two. Who are we picking to reach the final, and what are our thoughts in general about Bellator’s regular grand prix tournaments?

“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.

VIDEO: Raufeon Stots, Danny Sabatello get Bellator 289 trash talk started early in Chicago

It didn’t take long for Raufeon Stots and Danny Sabatello to find themselves in one of the most heated rivalries in Bellator history.

CHICAGO – It didn’t take long for [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] and [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] to find themselves in one of the most heated rivalries in Bellator history.

Interim bantamweight champion Stots (18-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) meets Sabatello (13-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) on Dec. 9 in the Bellator 289 main event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Their fight is one of two semifinals in the ongoing bantamweight grand prix. Patchy Mix takes on Magomed Magomedov on the other side of the bracket, and the winners will fight in the final sometime in 2023 to wrap up the $1 million tournament.

Sabatello’s level of trash talk and bravado is at a rare level, and Stots’ level isn’t far behind, at least while engaging with Sabatello.

This past Friday at Bellator 288, the two got into the cage for a faceoff to promote their headliner, now less than three weeks away. But before that, they met the media backstage at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

All MMA Junkie had to do was essentially give them a shot to go off on each other without so much as a real question. Check out their heated exchanges, as well as a a faceoff, in the video above.

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

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Stots-Sabatello, Magomedov-Mix bantamweight semifinals set for Bellator 289 in December

We’ve got a date and location for the next step in Bellator’s bantamweight grand prix.

We’ve got a date and location for the next step in Bellator’s bantamweight grand prix.

Interim titleholder [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) will take on [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) in one of two semifinals at Bellator 289 in December. On the other half of the bracket, [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) is matched up against sometimes-training partner [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA).

Bellator 289 will take place Dec. 9 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card will air on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. Bellator officials announced the event Monday following an initial report from “The MMA Hour.”

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Stots won the interim 135-pound title with a third-round head-kick knockout of Juan Archuleta at Bellator 279 in Honolulu in April. It was Stots’ 10th straight win and came in the tournament quarterfinals.

He’ll take on Sabatello, with whom he’s developed a fairly solid rivalry. Sabatello and his brash, trash-talking persona burst onto the scene this year with a play-in win over Jornel Lugo at Bellator 278. At Bellator 282 in June, he outworked Leandro Higo to reach his semifinal fight with Stots.

Magomedov lost to Stots in August 2021. But he bounced babck in June with a fourth-round submission of Enrique Barzola at Bellator 282 to get to the semifinals against Mix. Mix beat Kyoji Horiguchi with a unanimous decision in his semifinal fight at Bellator 279 in April. It was his third straight win.

The four semifinalists are working for an eventual title unification bout with champ Sergio Pettis, who currently is on the shelf.

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

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Raufeon Stots glad he won Bellator interim title, not undisputed from friend Sergio Pettis

Raufeon Stots is happy he didn’t have to fight his friend Sergio Pettis at Saturday’s Bellator 279.

[autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] is more than fine being the interim champion of Bellator’s bantamweight division.

Although it’s not the undisputed belt, the 33-year-old fighter is fully satisfied with his standing given the implications and dilemmas the undisputed crown would’ve brought to his fighting career.

Stots (18-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) won the 135-pound interim title, having knocked out Juan Archuleta in the co-main event of Saturday’s Bellator 279 event in Hawaii. Stots was originally scheduled to fight for the real belt, but the champion Sergio Pettis, who is Stots’ good friend and teammate, had to pull out of the title fight and grand prix due to injury.

“Supa” is glad he didn’t have to fight his friend – at least for now.

“To be honest with you, the goal is to win this million dollars – that’s my No. 1 goal right now,” Stots told MMA Junkie at the Bellator 279 post-fight press conference. “I got two more fights to win this million dollars and to be honest the interim sounds perfectly fine with me right now. I’m going to hold onto Serg’s (Sergio Pettis) belt till Serg is back and then we can figure out something after that.

“But right now I’m happy. If I were to win a belt from Serg, like Serg is my boy. It’s like me taking his girlfriend or something, that don’t feel good to me. This feel good to me. Juan Archuleta, I ain’t really care for his bald head. I really don’t care. This for me, I’m on cloud nine.”

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With the win, Stots also advances to the semifinals of the tournament where he will face the winner of the Bellator 282 matchup between Leandro Higo and Danny Sabatello scheduled for June 24.

Stots hopes Sabatello makes it to the semi-final, as that’s a fight he’d have no problem taking.

“If I get to fight fricking Sabatello, I mean, I’d be happy because he’s another person that I don’t like, so I would love to fight him. So yeah, he’s got to get through Higo, so we’ll see what happens with that. But congratulations to him, he looks like an amazing wrestler and he imposed his will on somebody.”

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Bellator 279 results: Raufeon Stots knocks out Juan Archuleta with head kick and punches to win interim title

Raufeon Stots turned in one for the highlight reel and won gold in the process,.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] has another one for the highlight reel – and a gold belt, too.

In the Bellator 279 co-main event, Stots (18-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) defeated former champion [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (25-4 MMA, 7-3 BMMA) by knockout 16 seconds into Round 3 to win the interim bantamweight title and move on in the promotion’s grand prix. The event took place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center.

Up until the final exchange, the fight was a relatively grapple-heavy affair. Archuleta scored a takedown early before Stots got one of his own. The second round was mostly striking, topped off by some cage control by Archuleta to close out the frame.

In the third round, Stots erased all meaning of the opening two when he threw a high kick that cracked Archuleta across the skull. The shot clipped and floored Archuleta, who was unable to recover as he was met with brutal follow-up punches.

With the win, Stots also advances to the semifinals of the tournament where he will face the winner of the Bellator 282 matchup between Leandro Higo and Danny Sabatello scheduled for June 24.

The interim title was implemented after undisputed titleholder Sergio Pettis suffered a knee injury in training that knocked him out of the tournament.

The up-to-the-minute Bellator 279 results include:

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Bellator 279 ceremonial weigh-in faceoffs video: Title fights, grand prix bouts, and more

The event in Honolulu features Cris Cyborg vs. Arlene Blencowe, Juan Archuleta vs. Raufeon Stots, Patchy Mix vs. Kyoji Horiguchi, and more.

HONOLULU – The pre-fight necessities are in the books for the second of two Bellator events this week, and all that’s left to do is fight.

The Bellator 279 fighters got face to face for the first and only time, officially at least, at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins. Included in that mix were headliners [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (25-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Arlene Blencowe[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 8-4 BMMA), who fight for Cyborg’s women’s featherweight title.

A few quick words were exchanged, though seemingly nothing personal. Cyborg sported artistically-worked facepaint of the Brazilian flag.

The most intense faceoff was between co-main eventers [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (25-3 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) and [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 5-0 BMMA), who compete in an interim bantamweight title fight that doubles as a grand prix quarterfinal. The other quarterfinalists competing Saturday, [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag] (29-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) had a lighter mood as the two flexed and shook hands.

Former women’s flyweight champion and Hawaii native [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 10-1 BMMA) showed a sign of respect to opponent [autotag]Justine Kish[/autotag] (7-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) when she presented her with a lei.

Saturday’s card at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu is the second of back-to-back Bellator events in Hawaii’s capital city. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. Check out all the faceoffs for Bellator 279 in the video above.

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Bellator 279 video: Juan Archuelta, Raufeon Stots on point ahead of interim title bout

Bellator 279 co-headliners Juan Archuleta and Raufeon Stots made weight ahead of their interim title fight clash in Honolulu.

HONOLULU – The co-main event for the second of two back-to-back Bellator shows in Hawaii is official after both title fighters made weight.

Former Bellator bantamweight champion [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (25-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) and fellow top contender [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 8-4 BMMA) both hit their marks on the scale Friday in Honolulu to make the Bellator 279 co-headliner official. The fight is both an interim title fight and a tournament bout for the opening bout of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix.

Stots was the third fighter to weigh in and made his mark at exactly 135 pounds. Archuleta followed shortly thereafter and came in under the limit at 134.6.

Bellator 279 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. It is the second of back-to-back Bellator events in Hawaii’s capital city. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out the co-headliners’ trips to the scale in the video above.

Bellator 279 predictions: Three unanimous picks in Hawaii – but who are they?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 279 main card, including champ Cris Cyborg vs. Arlene Blencowe.

Cyborg
vs.
Blencowe		 Archuleta
vs.
Stots		 Kish
vs.
Macfarlane		 Horiguchi
vs.
Mix
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
59-30		 cyborg2022
Cyborg
(83%)		 stots2022
Stots
(61%)		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane
(88%)		 horiguchi2022
Horiguchi
(65%)
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
59-30		 cyborg2022
Cyborg		 stots2022
Stots		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane		 horiguchi2022
Horiguchi
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
58-31
trophy copy 2014 Champion		 cyborg2022
Cyborg		 stots2022
Stots		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane		 horiguchi2022
Horiguchi
Nolan King
@mma_kings
58-31		 cyborg2022
Cyborg		 stots2022
Stots		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane		 horiguchi2022
Horiguchi
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
58-31		 cyborg2022
Cyborg		 stots2022
Stots		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane		 horiguchi2022
Horiguchi
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
58-31		 cyborg2022
Cyborg		 stots2022
Stots		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane		 mix2022
Mix
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
57-32
trophy copy 2018 Champion		 cyborg2022
Cyborg		 stots2022
Stots		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane		 mix2022
Mix
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
56-33		 cyborg2022
Cyborg		 stots2022
Stots		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane		 horiguchi2022
Horiguchi
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
55-34		 cyborg2022
Cyborg		 stots2022
Stots		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane		 horiguchi2022
Horiguchi
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
53-36
trophy copy 2017 Champion		 cyborg2022
Cyborg		 stots2022
Stots		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane		 mix2022
Mix
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
51-38		 cyborg2022
Cyborg		 stots2022
Stots		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane		 mix2022
Mix
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
41-48		 cyborg2022
Cyborg		 stots2022
Stots		 macfarlane2022
Macfarlane		 horiguchi2022
Horiguchi

Bellator is in Hawaii for the first time since late 2019 with back-to-back events – the second of which has the women’s featherweight title on the line, plus two key bantamweight grand prix bouts.

Bellator 279 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. It is the second of back-to-back nights of Bellator events in Hawaii’s capital city. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (25-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) puts her women’s featherweight title on the line in a rematch with [autotag]Arlene Blencowe[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 8-4 BMMA), whom she has a win over already. Cyborg, like she usually is when she fights, is a heavy betting favorite. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have her as one of three unanimous picks on the main card at 11-0.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (25-3 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) meets [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) in the opening round of the bantamweight grand prix – and also for the interim bantamweight title. The winner will be interim champ and take that belt into the semifinals. Stots is more than a 3-1 favorite and our second unanimous pick.

Also on the main card, former women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 10-1 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Justine Kish[/autotag] (7-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). Macfarlane is more than a 3-1 favorite and has a shutout in the picks at 11-0.

To open the main card, on the other side of the grand prix bracket, former champion [autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag] (29-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA). That bout is the only contentious one among our pickers, who have the favored Horiguchi with a 7-4 lead.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Cyborg (83 percent), Stots (61 percent), Macfarlane (88 percent) and Horiguchi (65 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.