Bellator MMA’s Bantamweight World Grand Prix got off to a sizzling start tonight (Sat., April 23, 2022) at Bellator 279 in Honolulu, Hawaii, with Patchy Mix upsetting Kyoji Horiguchi in the opening fight. But, it was the co-main event fight that had people buzzing.
Raufeon Stots and Juan Archuleta squared off in what was an interim Bantamweight title fight, as well as a quarterfinal bout after Sergio Pettis was bounced out of the tournament with an injury.
Archuleta look solid in the opening two rounds, scoring a takedown and being quicker to the punch than “Super,” though Stots did have some shining moments of his own. In the opening seconds of round three, however, Stots unleashed a huge kick that dropped Archuleta. A few follow up shots later and Stots was the new interim champion.
Once the replay rolled out, it was clear that a knee was what caught “The Spaniard” on the head, sending him tumbling down to his demise. Stots now moves on to the semifinals and is one step closer to a shot at $1 million and a title unification bout against Pettis, who is his teammate.
For complete Bellator 279 play-by-play updates and results click here.
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