Tag: Raufeon Stots

4 burning questions heading into Bellator 253

MMA Junkie’s Simon Head takes a look at the storylines to follow ahead of Bellator 253 in Uncasville, Conn.

The Bellator featherweight grand prix will crown its first finalist at Bellator 253 as the promotion prepares to host its latest fight night at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday night.

Once again, the featherweight tournament will take center stage, with the semifinal clash between former bantamweight champion [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] and undefeated phenom [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] headlining the event, while former WEC and UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] returns to action against welterweight contender [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] in the night’s co-headliner.

Undefeated prospects [autotag]Joey Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Jay Jay Wilson[/autotag] are also set for action in as they bid to extend their perfect professional records, while bantamweight contenders [autotag]Keith Lee[/autotag] and [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] will face off as they attempt to progress toward a shot at championship gold at 135 pounds.

Bellator 253 takes place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Here are four burning questions ahead of fight night.

Raufeon Stots vs. Keith Lee, ‘Baby Slice’ return among five fights added to Bellator 253

Five fights have been added to next week’s Bellator 253 lineup.

The Bellator 253 lineup is filling out.

On Monday, a promotion official informed MMA Junkie of five fights including [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Keith Lee[/autotag] and the return of “Baby Slice” [autotag]Kevin Ferguson Jr.[/autotag], son of the late combat sports legend Kimbo Slice.

Bellator 253 takes place Thursday, Nov. 19 at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network after prelims on MMA Junkie.

Stots (14-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) vs. Lee (7-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) will take place on the main card, after Ferguson (3-2 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) battles [autotag]Kaheem Murray[/autotag] in a lightweight fight on the prelims. The matchup was first reported by MMA reporter James Lynch on Sunday.

Stots, 31, most recently competed at Bellator 242 in July when he submitted previously-undefeated Cass Bell by third-round rear-naked choke. Seven weeks later at Bellator 245, Lee defeated Vinicius Zani by unanimous decision.

Ferguson and Murray (3-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) were scheduled to fight at Bellator 241 in March 2020. However, the event was canceled hours prior to its scheduled start time due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

Also on the prelims, [autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) fights [autotag]Johnny Soto[/autotag] (3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at a 140-pound contract weight, [autotag]Jaleel Willis[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) fights [autotag]Mark Lemminger[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) at welterweight, and [autotag]Marcus Surin[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Ricardo Seixas[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at lightweight.

With the additions, the Bellator 253 lineup includes:

  • Darrion Caldwell vs. A.J. McKee
  • Joey Davis vs. Bobby Lee
  • Keith Lee vs. Raufeon Stots
  • Matt Bessette vs. Jeremy Kennedy
  • Lance Gibson Jr. vs. Shane Krutchen
  • Kevin Ferguson Jr. vs. Kaheem Murray
  • Gaston Bolanos vs. Johnny Soto
  • Mark Lemminger vs. Jaleel Willis
  • Ricardo Seixas vs. Marcus Surin

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Bellator 242’s Raufeon Stots talks win over Cass Bell, future plans

Raufeon Stots talks about his big win at Bellator 242 and what might come next.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — [autotag]Raufeon Stots [/autotag]earned a big victory on Friday night with his third-round submission win over Cass Bell on the evening’s undercard at Bellator 242 in “The Fightsphere.”

Afterwards, Stots spoke with MMA Junkie about his victory, where this places him in pursuit of his Bellator goals, and what he’d like to do next.

Bellator 242 took place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount following prelims on YouTube.

Check out the interview with Stots in the video above.

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Combat Rewind, April 1: Top highlights include Raufeon Stots’ sick head kick

Check out the best highlights from this day in history with MMA Junkie’s “Combat Rewind.”

There’s “Flashback Friday” and “Throwback Thursday” (and Tuesday, too, if you want). But at MMA Junkie, we figured why not expand that to every day?

“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year. It’s a look back at history, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives, featuring stellar finishes and classic moments in MMA and beyond on their anniversaries.

So kick back and relive the following bits of greatness in the video above:

  • Strikeforce Challengers 15: [autotag]James Terry[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Josh Thornburg[/autotag] – April 1, 2011
  • Strikeforce Challengers 15: [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Scott Lighty[/autotag] – April 1, 2011
  • Shooto Japan: [autotag]Wataru Miki[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Takayoshi Ono[/autotag] – April 1, 2011
  • Victory FC 49: [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] vs. [autotag]William Joplin[/autotag] – April 1, 2016

Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.

Bellator 236 video highlights

Check out highlights from the main card of Bellator 236 in Honolulu.

The second half of Bellator’s Hawaii doubleheader took place Saturday with Bellator 236, which went down at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, with a main card that streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Hometown hero and women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] had another magical moment in her career when, for the second consecutive year, she defended her title on her own soil with a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Kate Jackson[/autotag], who became the first in six fights to push “The Ilimanator” to the scorecards.

Also victorious on the main card were A.J. McKee, who advanced to the Bellator featherweight grand prix semifinals, [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag], [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag], [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag], and [autotag]Zach Zane[/autotag].

You can watch highlights of the six bouts in the video above.

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Complete Bellator 236 results include:

Raufeon Stots reveals big names who turned him down before Bellator 236 victory

“You know that I’m a legitimate threat to your career path or whatever you’ve got going on, so you don’t want a part of that right now.”

HONOLULU – Bellator bantamweight [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] enjoyed a winning start in his new promotion, then revealed a pair of the 135-pound division’s big names had already swerved fights with him.

Stots (13-1, 1-0 BMMA) kicked off his Bellator career with a unanimous decision victory over Hawaii’s Cheyden Leialoha (7-2, 0-1 BMMA), earning scores of 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 to extend his overall winning streak to five. And the Roufusport-trained prospect paid tribute to his opponent for battling all the way to the scorecards.

“Yeah, I knew he was going to be tough,” Stots told MMA Junkie backstage after his debut win. “I thought I could get him out of there with a finish, but it was a little different. It was a different experience. I was trying to enjoy everything. It was a good win. I’ve got to thank my opponent, because he’s a tough mofo, and not a lot of people want to fight me, so I end up fighting the toughest around, and he proved to be just that. It’s nice to find a tough opponent.”

Finding a tough opponent hasn’t always been easy for Stots, as he explained that his attempts to jump into the bantamweight division with a big short-notice fight against a top name fell through after a pair of the division’s top contenders turned down fights with him.

When pressed to name names, Stots shrugged and spilled the beans.

“Not to stir up trouble, but there was a guy by the name of Patchy Mix who needed an opponent short notice, and I offered to step in. That didn’t come to fruition. I know James Gallagher needed an opponent late notice, (and) I got a message back that they’re not interested. I had a fight for Japan … and I don’t know what happened with that. But I was way happier to fight here. I’m just happy to know where I’m at, and if we meet each other in the future I’m always more than willing to make those fights.

“I was told that they didn’t want it … because it was short notice for them. But I’m the one stepping in for the fight that they have, so it is what it is. So when I see that, I’m like: ‘OK, you recognize. You know that I’m a legitimate threat to your career path or whatever you’ve got going on, so you don’t want a part of that right now.’ So that’s how I look at it. Who knows if that’s the case or whatever, but they’re more than welcome to prove me wrong. Step in the cage with me.”

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Stots admitted fighting for Bellator was a significant step up from life on the regional circuit as he felt the difference in quality, right down to the fighting canvas inside the cage itself.

“It was almost like, I’m used to sleeping on cotton sheets, (but) it’s silk here,” Stots said with a grin. “It’s just a little different, getting comfortable and being able to sleep. That’s how it’s feeling. It was cool.”

Stots said he came through his victory over Leialoha without any serious injuries, and he’d love nothing more than to jump straight back into the Bellator cage as quickly as possible.

“I could fight next week, if I can,” he said. “I’m just ready to fight. I like to fight. This is fun to me. So if I don’t get harmed, why not do it again?”

And after getting the first win of his Bellator career under his belt, the 31-year-old plans on making big waves in the promotion’s bantamweight division in 2020.

“I was happy to get my feet wet, but in 2020, I’m diving in,” Stots said. “Bellator bantamweights, beware. I’m putting you all on notice, I’m here now. Move over, get out of the way, do what you’ve got to do, but I’m coming for the belt. And that’s no disrespect. I just want to fight the best. I want to fight whoever’s going to put me to that next step towards being known as one of the greatest.”

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Bellator 236: Raufeon Stots full post-fight interview

Bellator 236: Raufeon Stots full post-fight interview

Bellator 236: Raufeon Stots full post-fight interview