Bellator MMA is headed back to Chicago, Ill., on Nov. 17, 2023 with a championship doubleheader as Bellator 301 set to go down inside Wintrust Arena. Headlining the event will be a Welterweight title fight with division champion, Yaroslav Amosov, defending his belt against the No. 2 ranked fighter in the division, Jason Jackson.
Amosov is coming off a unanimous decision win over No. 1 ranked, Logan Storley, this past February at Bellator Dublin (highlights). The win was “Dynamo’s” second over “Storm” and pushed his record up to 27-0, 9-0 Bellator. As for Jackson, he is currently riding a six-fight win streak and is coming off a big unanimous decision win over former champion Douglas Lima.
In the co-main event, 135-pound champion, Sergio Pettis, and interim title holder, Patchy Mix, will collide in a title unification bout. Mix is fresh off winning the Bantamweight World Grand Prix, defeating Raufeon Stots via first round knockout (see it) at Bellator 295 to become $1 million richer. The victory also earned him a shot at dethroning “The Phenom.”
Pettis, meanwhile, is coming off his second title defense, defeating current Featherweight champion, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, at Bellator 297 this past summer, which just so happened to take place in “The Windy City.” Pettis is currently on a six-fight win streak and is looking to add another notch on his belt by handing Mix just his second-ever defeat.
Also, the Lightweight Grand Prix will continue to chug along with a semifinal bout as former 155-pound champion, Patricky “Pitbull” Freire, takes on Alexandr Shabliy. “Pitbull” was set to face A.J. McKee at Bellator MMA x RIZIN 2 before “Mercenary” was forced out of the fight with a staph infection and replaced by Roberto de Souza. Pitbull went on to punch his ticket to the next round by knocking out the RIZIN Lightweight champion in the opening frame.
As for Shabliy, he has won eight straight, is 4-0 in his young Bellator career and was last seen knocking out Tofiq Musayev at Bellator 292 in the quarterfinals. Prior to that he stopped former 155-pound champion, Brent Primus, at Bellator 282. The winner moves on to the finale for a title fight and the chance to win $1 million. Plus, Raufeon Stots will rematch Danny Sabatello just 11 months removed from their first fight which saw Stots defeat “The Italian Gangster” via split decision.
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