FIGHT NIGHT RESULTS, QUOTES & PHOTOS FOR BELLATOR MMA 295: STOTS VS. MIX
OFFICIAL FIGHT NIGHT PHOTOS (PLEASE CREDIT: BELLATOR MMA/LUCAS NOONAN)
HONOLULU, HI – The fourth edition of BELLATOR’s annual events in Hawaii featured a sure-fire “knockout of the year” candidate, when Patchy Mix (18-1) stopped Raufeon Stots with a knee 80 seconds into their BELLATOR World Grand Prix Final on Saturday at the Blaisdell Arena in Oahu. With the win, Mix becomes the Interim Bantamweight Champion, the Bantamweight World Grand Prix Champion and the winner of the life-changing one-million-dollar prize.
BELLATOR 295: Stots vs. Mix also saw Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (13-2) earn a split decision victory against No. 2-ranked Kana Watanabe (11-2) in front of a partisan crowd. After the bout, Macfarlane asked for one last shot at the BELLATOR Flyweight World Championship, a title currently held by her former teammate, Liz Carmouche.
Also, during the main card, Yancy Medeiros (17-8, 1 NC) submitted Charlie Leary with a sleek rear-naked choke, and Aaron Pico (11-4) continues to impress at featherweight, teeing off on James Gonzalez (10-5) with body shots en route to a unanimous decision.
See below for quotes from Saturday’s winners:
Patchy Mix:
On the knee that led to the finish: “Out of nowhere. I’ve been working that shot. Right before we walked out, we were drilling good, and it landed. We put him out. I developed that knee because, as a southpaw, I’m going against Orthodox styles. I’ve been working that shot since 18 months ago in Ireland. I knew that Stots shoots. He’s so naive to think that I’m just a grappler. I’m a dog in the gym. No one outworks me. I know I don’t have a lot of knockouts, because I submit people, but don’t think I’m not a striker. It’s just the easiest way to win.”
“I knew that when I would feint him, he would put his hands down. He was expecting the shot.”
On the win being more satisfying because of Stots’ trash talk: “As much as I thought it would be, it wasn’t. There’s nothing satisfying about putting someone out cold. He’s got a family. We’ve both got kids. I never want to hurt him. Hearing his story, it’s similar to mine. It’s just that we’re fighting for the same prize. Two bad it couldn’t be two $500,000 checks. It’s a cruel game, but that’s the game we play. If it’s not him, it’s me, and I’m not gonna let that happen. I want to see him again because he was talking shit and I was talking shit. I don’t think he’s going home thinking that I’m better than him, just that I caught him. I hope to see him again down the line.”
On taking confidence from training with Stots in the past: “He trained with me ahead of the Horiguchi fight. It gave me a benchmark: to work harder than I saw him working. Not only did I believe I could submit him because my training partners have submitted him in the past, but that I could knock him out of the feet. When I do what I do, I finish that guy every day of the week.”
On the upcoming Bantamweight Championship match: “I don’t know if [Sergio] Pettis wants to fight me. He picked Stots to win, and I don’t know how he could do that. I think [Patricio] Pitbull takes it; you can’t pick against him. I want to fight the pound-for-pound number one. I want to fight the best. Regardless, I believe I’m the best bantamweight in the world today. I’m just getting better. I’m just growing into my prime now. My first loss was because of my pride and immaturity. Now I’m older and wise. I’m totally evolved. Im not just a grappler. I can do everything, and I’m here to prove it.”
On his plans for the million-dollar prize: “Buy my mom a house, take care of my family, and get back in the gym. I’m grateful for my family and friends; everybody who came out to Hawaii. I’m grateful to walk out with a million bucks, the belt, but Raufeon Stots’ name on my resume more than anything.”
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane:
On Kana Watanabe: “[Kana Watanbe’s] control was so good on the ground. We were prepared for her judo sweeps and everything. We prepared that as soon as it hit the ground, we’d have to scramble. She wasn’t giving me any space. I honestly thought I lost, but I always think that in the fights that go to a decision because I’m so used to finishing, that when it goes to a decision I consider it a loss.”
On fighting to a decision: “I think that this is a testament to how the division has grown. This is a good thing. It’s harder for me to get the finish, but that just shows how deep our division is getting and how high-level these women are. Now, I have to be a little bit more tactical and strategic than go for the finish and possibly lose the position.”
“We haven’t done a women’s Grand Prix in any division, and the flyweight division is the way to go. I’ve been calling for one since 2019. Every flyweight fight this weekend has been badass. I would be down; a million dollars is pretty sweet. Uncle Scott — let’s do a Grand Prix! I’ve been thinking about retirement more seriously lately because I wanted to start a family. But, a million dollars [would be] pretty cool. So, I could push back baby-making for a little bit.”
“Everything feels good. I’m not at Queens Hospital right now in the ER, so that’s a huge relief, too. I’m motivated right now. I need to stay motivated, especially [since] the title could very well be next. I need to stay focused, stick to the plan, and keep going.”
On her walk-out: “It’s so hard not to be emotional. It’s just crazy. I’m standing in the back, and they open up the curtain just a little bit, and I see my friends, my old high school schoolmates, and they’re all like, ‘Ilima!’ They were the last people I would have expected to be there, so I was just so overwhelmed. I started crying backstage. Then the dancers, so strong, the fiercest women, just walking me to battle. I challenge anyone to do that walkout and not be overwhelmed.”
On friend Liz Carmouche’s title defense last night: “I know Liz [Carmouche] so well. We know each other so well. I feel like I know what was going on in her head. I was sitting with her wife, and we were yelling instructions. I was getting nervous; I was. But, in true Liz fashion, she just pulls a choke out. That’s how Liz is. That’s her style. We were very relieved when she pulled that out. Even [more so] because she didn’t have to take that fight; DeAnna [Bennett] missed weight for a third time — in BELLATOR.”
Yancy Medeiros:
“I was hearing the crowd in the back, and I was like, ‘I don’t hear the crowd.’ My fight? I’m gonna make them roar. I’m going to give them what they paid for… I was asking my coaches, ‘Were there any finishes?’ I’m glad I can keep doing that. I’m here to entertain.”
“Charlie [Leary] just came back from the dead after I dropped him; he’s tough, man, he’s tough. When I dropped him, I hadn’t felt that feeling in so long. When I dropped him again, I thought, ‘Go to the ground. That’s where the finish is gonna be,’ and that’s where it was.”
“I’m always looking for a finish. When I hurt him the first time, I was trying to put him away. So then I thought tactically; the next time I get him down, I needed to use all of my skills. I thought, ‘Next time I get him down, I’m getting it done.'”
“The next one’s at 155, 170. You saw what I did in that cage. I’ll do it at any weight.”
On His Reception from the Hawaiian Crowd: “It’s kind of uncontrollable. It’s inevitable. I wasn’t celebrating for myself, I was celebrating because I’m loved. The win is great, but the love is everything. It’s something I can’t help but perpetuate. We’re all together. We’re all human. We can all come together for love, even in this vicious sport. Don’t pay it back. Pay it forward. Give it to somebody else.”
“If anybody’s injured in that Lightweight Grand Prix, let me know. Hawaii will keep up this wave [of momentum] and keep it hot. Mahalo!”
Aaron Pico:
On His Takeaways from the Fight: “It was really good for my development. The whole game plan for this fight was to stay on the feet. We wanted to stay comfortable on my feet the whole fight if we could. Whatever I need to do to grow as a fighter, that’s what we’re going to do.”
On Thinking about His Injury in the Cage: “That thought is out of my head. I had surgery. If you have that hesitation going into the fight, you probably shouldn’t be fighting. I don’t let that thought enter my head. I throw with a lot of power, and I can’t have that kind of hesitation. No hesitation; we always say that in practice. No hesitation.”
“A lot of people don’t really understand that it’s so scary to take a fight on a week’s notice because he has nothing to lose. This guy [James Gonzalez] was no slouch coming from a great team in Serra-Longo. I don’t take anything for granted in this sport. I’ve been humbled in this sport. We knew he was very, very tough. He was durable.”
“I knew this guy was going to be so tough and look for big, hard shots. I had to be very disciplined. This fight went exactly as I imagined it. I knew it would be hard to take him out, so I had a feeling that it was gonna go three rounds. Some guys are tough. If we have to go three rounds, we’ll go three rounds.”
On His Title Aspirations: “I’m ready to be a world champion. Now’s the time. I’m ready. [Patricio] Pitbull’s going down, and from what I’ve heard, he’s staying at 135 lbs. Me and Jeremy [Kennedy] should [rematch for the vacant title]. We shouldn’t hold up the division. When Pitbull’s ready, we’ll welcome him back to the division. I’m going to fight for a world championship. Whatever I need to do, I’m going to do. I think [what makes] the most sense is me fighting for the title.”
BELLATOR 295: STOTS VS. MIX MAIN CARD:
#2-Patchy Mix (18-1) defeated IC-Raufeon Stots (19-2) via KO (knee) at 1:20 of round one
#3-Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (13-2) defeated #2-Kana Watanabe (11-2-1) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Yancy Medeiros (17-8) defeated Charlie Leary (17-14-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:39 of round one
#3-Aaron Pico (11-4) defeated James Gonzalez (10-6) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
BELLATOR 295: STOTS VS. MIX PRELIMINARY CARD:
#6-Mads Burnell (17-5) defeated #7-Justin Gonzales (14-2) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Kai Kamaka III (11-5-1) defeated Adli Edwards (9-3) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
#9–Sumiko Inaba (6-0) defeated #7-Veta Arteaga (7-5) unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Aalon Cruz (11-4) defeated Bobby King (12-6) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Davion Franklin (6-1) defeated Kasim Aras (7-2) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Bruna Ellen (7-4) defeated #8-Ilara Joanne (11-7) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Masayuki Kikuiri (9-2-1) defeated Alexey Shurkevich (13-6) via KO (punch) at 4:33 of round two
HONOLULU, HI. – The first of two events in Oahu are complete and Liz Carmouche (19-7) will be leaving the island still BELLATOR MMA Flyweight World Champion.
Further down the BELLATOR 294 main card, Tim Johnson (16-9) earned a unanimous decision over Said Sowma, former Olympian Sara McMann (14-6) defeated Arlene Blencowe in her promotional debut at the Blaisdell Arena.
The No. 5-ranked bantamweight in BELLATOR, Danny Sabatello (14-2) finished Marcos Breno with a slick rear-naked choke submission, then got on the house microphone and announced his intentions to compete on BELLATOR’s upcoming event in Chicago.
The main card of tomorrow’s BELLATOR 295 can be seen live on SHOWTIME beginning at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT, while the preliminary portion of the card will kick off at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and can be viewed live and free on the BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel, the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel, and Pluto TV.
Here are quotes from tonight’s winners at BELLATOR 294:
Liz Carmouche: On the First Three Rounds, and Bennett’s Weight Miss: “I definitely didn’t want any dominance on her part, but she didn’t struggle to miss weight. He still didn’t make the weight, and I could feel that in the beginning. She had success early, but she still didn’t have the gas tank at the end… if you watch her, every time she had to walk back up to the scale — if you have the energy to make a face, you have the energy to stay in the sauna. Her claim to fame in this sport is missing weight. You don’t deserve to have the belt. Now, if she had the same performance while making weight, I would be giving her props. She cheated, yet again. If I outweighed somebody and didn’t have to cut weight, I would do pretty well on top, too.”
“I wanted to make a statement and finish her and get her out of the sport.”
On Bennett’s Post-Fight, In-Cage Comments: “She, just like her previous fights, was like, ‘I’m so sorry, I just didn’t make weight.’ Those excuses don’t fly. I stay up until 11:00 at night cutting the weight, then I wake up at 5:00 to double and triple check. We’re professionals in this sport, and we’re in one of the biggest organizations in the sport, so we need to do everything the best way possible. She said she had nothing but respect for me. To me, if you don’t make weight, you don’t respect your opponent.”
On Tomorrow’s Macfarlane vs. Watanabe Fight: “I’m gonna be in attendance tomorrow night. It’s Hawaii, and I love that we do these back-to-back events so that I can be in attendance. When I get to be out here, I get to attend and support me friend Ilima[-Lei] Macfarlane. At the end of the fight, I expect to be called into the cage to fight [the winner of her fight with Kana Watanabe].”
On Her Resilience: “I dug deep in myself. I’m not a quitter. I’m gonna show them what it means to be a Marine. No matter what it takes, no matter how hard it gets, you get it done. I could see she was getting tired. My coach was like, ‘That’s it. You’ve given her three, now finish it and get it done.’ Once I got her close, I could feel her energy level dying down.”
On Considering Retirement due to Lack of Contenders: “The end of my career doesn’t depend on the people around me. I’m not going to hang up my gloves because the people around me aren’t [on my level]. I’m going to step up, I’m going to get it done, regardless of if it’s a rematch.”
Tim Johnson: On Feeling Pressure Following Career Setbacks: “Not the pressure of the fight with Said [Sowma], the pressure of my career. I told myself going in, ‘I could probably convince one more ‘prove it to me’ deal,’ but I didn’t want to leave it in anyone else’s hands. This fight camp has been filled with more adversity than I’ve dealt with in my career. I was in a car accident that I don’t know how I’m alive right now. I had kidney stones. This has been one heck of a fight camp.”
“I’m not where I set out to be with my goals when I started out fighting, but with this win, I’m getting closer. This isn’t the best version of me that was out there, so I look forward to getting another fight… ideally, it’d be four more fights, then take it from there. I’m gonna go until my body or my brain tells me otherwise. I’m still able to keep up with all these young guns that are all full of piss and vinegar.”
“Said deserves to be in this organization. He’s a great fighter. We both deserved to be ranked in this fight, and I hope he gets another fight and a contract with BELLATOR.”
“I thought he would throw more leg kicks than he did. I ended up just rushing in on Said, as well. We had a gameplan, and some of it worked and some of it didn’t. I couldn’t find range [due to his teep kicks], but I was able to get a few solid takedowns. I don’t burn myself out. I get into how much I want to do, and it was my night tonight.”
On What He Wants Next: “Steve Mowry. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. August. [Down the line], me and [Heavyweight World Champion] Ryan Bader had a gentlemen’s agreement that we never got to do.”
On His Strength of Schedule: “Over 70% of the people I’ve fought in BELLATOR have fought for the belt or held the belt, so my quality of opposition is at the top. I came here to fight the best.”
Sara McMann: “[The difference between bantamweight and featherweight] wasn’t as big of a difference as I thought. [Opponent Arlene Blencowe] is on caliber with all the girls I fought in the UFC. What a freaking introduction to a new promotion; I got one of the toughest chicks here.”
On the Third-Round Knockdown: “I flashed for a second, but I did that in the first two rounds when she connected. She hits hard. I didn’t feel any worse in the third. When she connected in the other two rounds, I felt both of those, too.”
“I really wanted a lot more offense than what I did. In my head, I scouted here. I knew how tough she was. I just expected the fight to be at a high, hard pace. Either she was going to set it or I was, but I knew she was game for it.”
“I think that it would be great to beat [Cris] Cyborg to be the BELLATOR champion. When I came to this division, that’s what I set my heart on. It’s a worthy decision. But the division shouldn’t wait for her forever. For me, I think of it as: I’ll fight her sooner, or I’ll fight her later.”
“My team and I have the utmost respect for her striking and her toughness. We knew where the battleground was going to be.”
Danny Sabatello: On His Personality and Explicit Language: “I’ve always been this way. It turns a lot of sponsorships away, a lot of money away… I always preach to be who you are, and that’s who I am. I know that I have a lot of haters out there. I’m just bombarded by twenty hateful things before I see one positive comment. I don’t give a fuck.”
“[Marcos Breno is] very powerful. He can put the lights out on anybody. I didn’t feel like going to sleep in here; I knew I would face adversity in there because when you’ve got a young kid in there, you’re going to get the best from them. He’s a very good fighter. He’s going to be very successful in BELLATOR, I know it.”
“My gameplan — I don’t care who’s listening — I do the same thing every time. Try to stop me. I take every opening. People say they don’t want to see me fight on the ground, stop my takedowns. I’m relentless with it. I didn’t get the first few takedowns. During, I’m thinking, ‘Money in the bank.’ He’s getting tired. I kept going, I kept shooting… boom, done.”
“[Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg] is a good friend of mine. He encouraged me to show off my striking a little bit, so shout out to that. When you get a DM from Mark Zuckerberg saying to show off the hands, you show off the hands. He recognizes real talent. He recognizes that I’m awesome, and a fucking good fighter, and that’s just what it is.”
“I need to fight June 16 in Chicago. That’s my family, my fans, my friends. I need to bring the house down there. It’s going to be a sick venue for me. But first, I’ve got to go back down to Ft. Lauderdale. You’ve got to celebrate the wins in this game. I’ve got one week of partying before I go back to the best gym in the world, American Top Team. I hope it’s [Magomed] Magomedov, because he’s been running his mouth on me. I hope the Russia’s crazy enough to fight me in my hometown.”
On Raufeon Stots: “I hate that motherfucker. I’ll always hate that motherfucker.”
Levan Chokheli: “The fight went the way that I wanted. That was my plan, to control every round and smash this guy. Punching, kicking, body kick, high kick. I had a lot of stuff land. I took him down, ground-and-pound. That was my plan; that was my game.”
“Everything was controlled from me. Striking, control. The guy only tried cage control, and I think cage control was mine with the punching. That guy only tried to control, but the points were mine.”
“When I touched him the first time, I thought that was my fight, 100%. I think the third round is my easy round, because when I get a little bit tired, I don’t fight with emotion.”
“I was in the Top 10, but they changed it. But now, I know I’m going to be in the Top 10, guaranteed. I want to fight with Neiman Gracie and [Michael Page] MVP. I know they’re high in the rankings, all the respect to them, but I want to fight them.”
“I was ready to fight three rounds with high intensity. When I thought I could take him down, I could take him down 100 times. I don’t get tired. I am a fighter. I have knowledge; my mind is the best skill that I have.”
“After he won [his last fight], he called me out and said ‘I’m gonna knock him out.’ No, you can’t win against me. You can’t knock me out. You can’t win one round against me. I told him, ‘You can’t knock me out,’ and that was really a test for me.”
BELLATOR 294: CARMOUCHE VS. BENNETT 2 MAIN CARD:
C-Liz Carmouche (19-7) defeated #4-DeAnna Bennett (13-8-1) via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:29 of round four
#7-Tim Johnson (16-9) defeated Said Sowma (8-5) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sara McMann (14-6) defeated #2-Arlene Blencowe (15-10) via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-27, 30-26)
#5-Danny Sabatello (14-2) defeated Marcos Breno (15-3) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:10 of round two
Levan Chokheli (12-2, 1 NC) defeated Michael Lombardo (13-4, 1 NC) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
PRELIMINARY CARD:
Killys Mota (14-3) defeated Kenneth Cross (13-4) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:14 round two
Tyrell Fortune (13-3, 1 NC) defeated Sergei Bilostennyi (10-3) via disqualification (illegal strikes) at 3:26 of round one
Cris Lencioni (11-3) defeated Blake Smith (7-4) via submission (triangle choke) at 3:39 of round two
Sharaf Davlatmurodov (19-4-1) defeated Anthony Adams (9-4) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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