Raufeon Stots and Danny Sabatello 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:
- Raufeon Stots def. Danny Sabatello via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- A.J. McKee def. Sidney Outlaw via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Alexander Shabliy def. Patricky Freire via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) – advances to lightweight grand prix final
- Archie Colgan def. Pieter Buist via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Denise Kielholtz def. Sumiko Inaba via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Timur Khizriev def. Justin Gonzales via unanimous decision 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Keri Melendez def. Sabriye Sengul via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:06
- Matheus Mattos def. Richard Palencia via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:20
- Ramazan Kuramagomedov def. Randall Wallace via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:49
- Islam Mamedov def. Killys Mota via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Cody Law def. Jefferson Pontes via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27, 30-27)
- Tim Wilde def. Mike Hamel via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:47
- Yves Landu def. Isao Kobayashi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.
