Patchy Mix destroyed interim Bellator bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots to capture the belt and win the bantamweight grand prix in the Bellator 295 headliner.
Mix caught Stots with a standing knee at 1:20 of the first frame to set up a title unifier with the winner of a June meeting between champion Sergio Pettis and Patricio Pitbull.
“People think I’m just a ground guy,” Mix said afterwards. “Just knocked out 19-1 Raufeon Stots in a minute with my back knee. I’ve been working on this for months. I knew he had dived and I knew I could catch him.
Check out the explosive finish below.
Mix’s win over Stots capped an impressive streak of bantamweight tournaments by edging out former RIZIN champion Kyoji Horiguchi and submitting Magomed Magomedov. For his efforts, The New Yorker won a million dollar check and hosted the winner of the June title fight.
“I’ll be there,” he said. “I’m going to sit on the edge of the cage. It does not matter. It’s No. 1 against No. 7 pound for pound, so whoever comes out on top will be on top.
Ilimanator squeals victory and secures title shot
In the co-main event, former flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane edged past Kana Watanabe to keep her title hopes alive. She regularly gave up takedowns to judoka Watanabe for 15 minutes, but Watanabe’s lack of attack and a stiff right hand presented a better argument for two of the three judges, who gave her the 29-28 call against the judge. Watanabe dissenter, 29-28. .
Full Bellator 295 results:
Patchy Mix def. Raufeon Stots via KO (knee) – Round 1, 1:20
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane defeated. Kana Watanabe by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Yancy Medeiros beats. Charlie Leary via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 1, 4:39
Aaron Pico beats. James Gonzalez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mads Burnell defeats. Justin Gonzales by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Kai Kamaka III defeats. Adley Edwards beats. Veta Arteaga via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Sumiko Inaba defeats. Veta Arteaga by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Aalon Cruz defeats. Bobby King by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Davion Franklin beats. Kasim Aras via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Bruna Ellen beats. Ilara Joanne via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Masayuki Kikuiri defeated. Alexey Shurkevich via KO (punch) – Round 2, 4:33
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