The Bantamweight Grand Prix will continue to chug along tomorrow night (Fri., Dec. 9, 2022) as Bellator 289 hosts two semifinal matchups. In the main event of the evening, Raufeon Stots will put his interim belt on the line when he faces Danny Sabatello. In further action, Magomed Magomedov battles Patchy Mix to see who else punches his ticket to the $1 million finale.
In the co-main event of the Showtime-streamed event, women’s Flyweight champion, Liz Carmouche, will defend her title against Juliana Velasquez eight months removed from the first fight in which “Girl-Rilla” dethroned the former Brazilian champion.
Raufeon Stots vs Danny Sabatello
When Sergio Pettis was forced out of his title fight against Juan Archuleta at Bellator 279, his teammate Raufeon Stots agreed to step in to fill the void and went on to knock out “The Spaniard” to win the interim title. As a result of his injury, Pettis was unable to take part in the $1 million Bantamweight Grand Prix, much to the chagrin of Danny Sabatello. Now, Stots and Sabatello will fight for the right to move on to the finale as the interim champion. Currently, on a 10-fight win streak, Stots has proven to be legit championship material with a well-rounded attack, winning two fights by knockout, two by submission, and six via unanimous decision over his current run. Sabatello, however, has him covered when it comes to the wrestling department, something that isn’t lost on “Super.” If “The Italian Gangster” decides to stick to his roots and out-wrestle Stots he should be able to get the victory. But Sabatello loves a good old fashion scrap, and he has been chirping every chance he gets. That means he will more than likely want to earn a finish on the feet to back up his words. If he does that and does not resort to his wrestling, it could be a long night for him. That’s not to say he doesn’t possess skills with his hands, but Stots is just a tad bit better in that area.
Final prediction: Stots via unanimous decision
Liz Carmouche vs. Juliana Velasquez
Carmouche defeated Velasquez in the fourth round via technical knockout, though Velasquez felt the stop way premature and was quick to protest the result. She went on to appeal the defeat and was ultimately denied. Now, almost eight months removed from their initial bout at Bellator 278, Velasquez has the chance to get revenge and win her title back, though Carmouche would have refereed to face someone else. Nevertheless, “Girl-Rilla” will have to get another win over the Brazilian bomber in order to face some new blood in her next outing. Prior to her loss to Carmouche, Velasquez had gone 12-0, which includes seven wins inside the Bellator cage. As for Carmouche, since making the jump from UFC she has won four straight with the Viacom-owned promotion and topped it off with her TKO win over Velasquez. The first encounter was pretty competitive up until Velsqeuz found herself in a precarious position eating elbows, which she says weren’t affecting her at all. She has the chance to rectify everything and she will have to use her slight reach advantage to do it, which I believe she will. Carmouche will try to take the fight to the ground again, but she has to be careful because her foe is a black belt in jiu-jitsu. We won’t get a finish since this will be another close fight that will make it all the way to the judges’ scorecards.
Final prediction: Velasquez via unanimous decision
Magomed Magomedov vs Patchy Mix
In the other quarterfinal Bantamweight Grand Prix matchup, Magomedov and Mix will get it on to see who faces the winner of Stots vs. Sabatello in the $1 million finale for the interim title later in 2023. The winner of that fight will then battle the division king, Sergio Pettis, in a title unification bout. Magomedov is just 3-1 so far in his young Bellator career, but he has made a quick impression. He mixes up his attack very well by utilizing his grappling to take the fight to the ground, While he does possess knockout power, he does prefer the ground game because once he smothers his opponents, he then latches on to any limb available to him to get a submission win, accumulating nine so far. Mix, meanwhile, has 11 submission victories on his resume, so he is just as lethal once it hits the ground. That means we could have a stalemate on the mat. If it stays on the feet the action there could be even, though the slight edge may go to Mix. At the end of the day, though, Magomedov will use his grappling to his advantage to suffocate and stifle Mix, punching his ticket to the finale.
Final prediction: Magomedov via unanimous decision
Dalton Rosta vs Anthony Adams
The opening main card fight will feature two talented Middleweights at different stages of their Bellator careers. Rosta is currently undefeated at 7-0 with all fights going down inside the Bellator cage, which includes four knockouts. As for Adams, he made a successful Bellator debut by defeating Khalid Murtazaliev, though that was well over a year ago. I don’t understand the booking since Rosta is inching closer to the Top 5 while Adams hasn’t competed in 14 months and is a relative Bellator newcomer. Rosta would have been better suited taking on someone ranked, and there are plenty of fighters available. Nevertheless, “Hercules” has a tough challenge ahead of him against “Sugafoot” despite the fact that he only has one stoppage win in his six-year pro MMA career. I don’t anticipate Rosta suffering his first loss here. He is too good, too talented and too well-rounded. It will take a bit to get his rhythm and timing going but will eventually find his spacing to score the finish.
Final prediction: Rosta via second-round technical knockout
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See you then!