BREAKING: Bellator 301 set to feature bantamweight grudge match
Bellator 301 is shaping up to be an entertaining night as the promotion has added a bantamweight grudge match to kick off the main card, which is scheduled to take place at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois on November 17.
The promotion announced that the event will feature a rematch between Raufeon Stots and Danny Sabatello. They fought last December at Bellator 289, which saw the then interim bantamweight champion Stots earn a unanimous decision win to retain his title and advance to the finals of the bantamweight Grand Prix.
The bout was also remembered for a controversial scorecard by one of the judges, who scored the bout 50-45 in favor of 'The Italian Gangster', while the others scored the bout 49-48 for 'Supa'. The animosity between the two was still very much apparent after the bout as Sabatello left the cage and Stots used his post-fight interview to add more salt to the wounds by singing 'Hey hey hey, goodbye'.
'The Italian Gangster' was born in Chicago, so he will most likely have the home crowd advantage at Bellator 301. Both fighters are coming off a loss, so it will be interesting to see which bantamweight can get back on track in one of the promotion's most stacked divisions.
What other fights are scheduled for Bellator 301?
Bellator 301 is another loaded card from top to bottom as it is also scheduled to feature two title fights and a lightweight Grand Prix semi-final bout.
Alexandr Shabliy and former lightweight champion Patricky 'Pitbull' Freire will look to book their place in the $1 million Grand Prix finals, where they will also have an opportunity to become the lightweight champion. The first of two title fights will be in the bantamweight division as Sergio Pettis defends his title in a highly anticipated bout against bantamweight Grand Prix winner Patchy Mix in the co-main event.
The second title fight takes place in the main event as welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov defends against Jason Jackson. The unbeaten champion will look to improve his MMA record to 28-0 as he defends his title for the second time.