Bellator 295: Patchy Mix knocks out Raufeon Stots to win Bellator interim bantamweight title
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Patchy Mix knocks out Raufeon Stots to win at Bellator 295
Patchy Mix stunned Raufeon Stots, knocking him out with a vicious knee to win the Bantamweight Grand Prix and interim title at Bellator 295 in Hawaii.
American Mix landed the fight-ending strike in the second minute of the bout.
In victory Mix, 29, secures a $1m (£800,000) prize.
He sets up a bout against the victor of champion Sergio Pettis and Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire's fight in June.
Pettis was originally meant to defend his belt in the tournament, which started last year, but pulled out with injury, leading to an interim title being put on the line.
American Stots, 34, beat Juan Archuleta for that belt in April 2022 before defending it against Danny Sabatello in December to reach the final.
Mix, meanwhile, defeated Kyoji Horiguchi and Magomed Magomedov to secure his spot in the showpiece event at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.
Much of the pre-fight discussion was based on whether submission specialist Mix could take seasoned wrestler Stots down to work towards ending the fight on the ground.
Mix had 12 submission finishes in 18 wins going into the fight, with six of his past eight victories coming the same way since making his Bellator debut in 2019.
However, it was Mix's striking which proved the difference as just 80 seconds into the fight he unleashed a left knee strike which caught Stots on the chin, ending the contest.
As Mix celebrated, doctors tended to Stots, before he was able to get to his feet and congratulate the new interim champion.
"I feel great, man. My mum, my brother, my family, every one came here for me," said Mix.
"People think I'm just a ground guy but I just knocked out 19-1 Raufeon Stots with a knee. I've been working on that for months, let's go."
Mix went on to say he had no preference over who he will face next, but will be cage-side for Pettis and Freire's fight at Bellator 297.
Former lightweight champion and current featherweight title holder Freire will be moving down a weight class as he attempts to become the first three-division champion in Bellator history.
Home favourite Macfarlane beats Watanabe
Macfarlane (left) has 12 wins in Bellator, more than any other woman
The co-main event saw Hawaii's Ilima-Lei Macfarlane edge a split-decision win against Japan's Kana Watanabe.
Macfarlane, 33, was the greater threat throughout with her striking and successfully defended a number of submission attempts from Watanabe, 34.
Macfarlane walked to the cage draped in a Hawaiian flag and to a backdrop montage dedicated to No More Stolen Sisters - a movement that raises awareness about the disproportionate levels of violence indigenous women face in the United States and Canada.
Bellator's first flyweight champion, Macfarlane won the title in 2017 and held it for three years, defending it four times until defeat by Juliana Velasquez.
Third in the Bellator flyweight rankings, Macfarlane was facing the athlete one place above her in Watanabe.
Watanabe has 13 wins from her six-year MMA career with her sole defeat coming against current champion Liz Carmouche in 2021.
The majority of the bout was a battle between Watanabe using her judo background to try and get the fight to the ground, with Macfarlane looking to keep it on the feet and utilise her striking.
Macfarlane found success in the first five minutes, landing one-two punch combinations and opening a cut below Watanabe's right eye, but the Japanese fighter responded in the second round, dominating the action on the canvas.
The closing stages of the fight saw Watanabe continuously looking for trips and takedowns without dealing much damage, with Macfarlane responding with defensive strikes.
Following her win, Macfarlane called for a title bout with former training partner and friend Carmouche, who was looking on at cage-side.
Carmouche defended her title against DeAnna Bennett at Bellator 294 the night before.
"That was nerve-wracking. All respect to Kana, she is amazing on the ground. I always thought my grappling was good but she is a top-tier grappler," said Macfarlane.
"It really could have gone either way. I think in the end I was probably doing more damage.
"It only makes sense the winner of tonight's fight gets the winner of last night's fight. That's my girl [Carmouche], I have a lot of love for her. We knew this day was coming. I would love for my last fight to be against Liz right over there."
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