Bellator returns to its unofficial east coast home of the Mohegan Sun Casino on Saturday for Bellator 289 as they continue on with the highly entertaining bantamweight grand prix.
Two World Titles on the Line at Bellator 289
Headlining the card from a selling perspective are two title fights, one between heated rivals and one a rematch of a controversial stoppage earlier this year. For weeks we have been given the pleasure of a great back-and-forth between the interim bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots and rising contender Danny Sabatello as they do their best to sell the fight between them as not a show but rather an authentic disdain for one another.
In the co-main event spot, we have a rematch of the women’s flyweight title where new champion Liz Carmouche looks to defend her title from the former champion she defeated in April in Juliana Velasquez. That bout was stopped controversially in the eyes of fans and media alike when Carmouche had the former champ in a crucifix position. This time around both women look for a clean finish so that they can continue to build legacies that exist outside of that context.
Stots and Sabatello Finally Reach a Boiling Point
Boxing has had its fair share of heated rivalries whether it be Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya, or anyone Ricardo Mayorga fought, nothing compares to what MMA brings to the table in terms of trash talk. Maybe it’s because things can get personal, maybe it’s because both combatants know how serious things can get, no matter what though the sales on rivalries are just better.
That being said, Raufeon Stots and Danny Sabatello is a genuine rivalry and authentic, something not many can claim.
This bout on paper may be a similar matchup between two wrestlers, similar to Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch way back when. Stots and Sabatello though are two different fighters in every sense. For Stots, he has a solid wrestling background being a two-time All-American and a national champion at the Division II level. Pair that with a striking game that was originally developed at Roufussport and he is closer to the complete package than Sabatello is.
Sabatello however has a leg up on Stots in one crucial area, cardio.
Sabatello has stated that his division one background trumps Stots’ wrestling pedigree which was crafted at Purdue University, just like Jon Fitch. Sabatello has his best chances in this bout the deeper he takes Stots, if he can get him to rounds four and five then this bout gets that much more interesting. Stots has shown in the past he can gas himself out with his high output and wrestling attempts at the beginning of his fights. Sabatello can’t outstrike him in this matchup but he can out cardio him.
Carmouche Looks to Validate Herself as Champion
In April at Bellator 278, Liz Carmouche entered the Bellator cage as she attempted to come full circle in her career comeback after her UFC release. She was battling the undefeated champion, Juliana Velasquez, in Hawaii and she did just that but just not in the way she had hoped it would go down.
This time around, both women have a sense of what the other can do and for Carmouch it is completing what she started in the last fight by using her takedowns and ground and pound to grind out a win. She can’t beat Velasquez standing up as when they did that was where this fight looked like it wasn’t going to go her way. Carmouche can win this fight again and in the same fashion as she did previously, this time it could just be more convincing. Look for Carmouche to shoot for takedowns early and often in this as she looks to validate herself as champion.
For the former champion, Velasquez has a rather impressive grappling tool in her arsenal that we may see this time around. Her judo is top-tier in the women’s divisions of MMA, not just Bellator, in fact, it is good enough that she is a national team member for Brazil. If she uses that judo this time to get some top positions and apply some ground and pound of her own then this bout could look completely different. Add in the fact that if Carmouche cannot get Velasquez down then this will be a long night for the current champion as Velasquez has shown in the past she has no problem using her range to pick opponents apart on the outside.
