OFFICIAL BELLATOR MMA™ FIGHTER RANKINGS AS OF DEC. 13

LOS ANGELES — BELLATOR 289 was a momentous night for BELLATOR MMA at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The main event saw BELLATOR Interim Bantamweight Champion Raufeon Stots (19-1) silence heated rival Danny Sabatello (13-2) in their main event Bantamweight World Grand Prix semifinal, with Stots advancing to the finale against Patchy Mix (17-1) after Mix’s main card submission victory over Magomed Magomedov (19-3). In the co-main event, BELLATOR Flyweight Champion Liz Carmouche (18-7) proved her first win over Brazil’s Juliana Velasquez (12-2) was no fluke with a second-round mounted armbar in her first title defense.

 

With the main event win, Stots rose to No. 9 in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings. The vanquished Sabatello managed to impress the rankings panelists in defeat, leapfrogging Kyoji Horiguchi to take the No. 5 ranking at bantamweight. Both Carmouche and Velasquez retained their positions in the pound-for-pound and flyweight divisions, as did Mix and Magomedov.

 

Elsewhere on the card, welterweight Jaleel Willis (16-4) and Brazilian flyweight Ilara Joanne (11-6) scored impressive victories that had rankings implications. Willis entered the divisional rankings at No. 10, while his losing opponent Kyle Crutchmer (9-2) dropped to No. 10. Joanne made her rankings debut at No. 7, with her foe Denise Kielholtz (6-5) falling from No. 3 to No. 5.

 

The next BELLATOR MMA show will be the promotion’s historic BELLATOR vs. RIZIN mega-event on New Year’s Eve in Saitama, Japan. Five BELLATOR stars will go head-to-head with five RIZIN standouts in a blockbuster, first-of-its-kind co-promotional crossover. Representing Team BELLATOR will be No. 1 P4P talent and featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull (34-5) vs. RIZIN’s Kleber Koike (31-5-1), No. 3 P4P athlete AJ McKee (19-1) vs. Roberto Souza (14-1), No. 3 bantamweight Juan Archuleta (26-4) vs. Soo Chul Kim (18-6-1), No. 6 bantamweight Kyoji Horiguchi (30-5) vs. Hiromasa Ougikubo (25-6-2), and No. 10 lightweight Gadzhi Rabadanov (18-4-1) vs. Koji Takeda (15-3).

 

The can’t-miss event can be seen in the United States on SHOWTIME at 8 p.m. ET/PT on New Year’s Eve, airing from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

 

For more information on this and other upcoming BELLATOR MMA events, visit Bellator.com. 

 

 

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For more information on upcoming BELLATOR MMA events, visit BELLATOR.com. 

 

Updated schedule of BELLATOR events - click links for updated fight cards

Sat. Dec. 31 // BELLATOR MMA vs. RIZIN FF // Saitama Super Arena // Saitama, Japan 

Sat. Feb. 4 // BELLATOR 290: Bader vs. Fedor 2 // Kia Forum // Inglewood, Calif.

Sat. Feb. 25 // BELLATOR 291: Amosov vs. Storley 2 // 3Arena // Dublin, Ireland 

 

About BELLATOR:

BELLATOR MMA is a leading global mixed martial arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, BELLATOR events take place in major cities worldwide and can be seen on television in over 160 countries by an available audience of over one billion people. In the United States, BELLATOR can be seen on SHOWTIME. BELLATOR is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity, and commission relations. BELLATOR is based in Hollywood, Calif. and owned by entertainment giant Paramount, home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.

 

About SHOWTIME:

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Paramount, owns and operates the premium service SHOWTIME®, which features critically acclaimed original series, provocative documentaries, box-office hit films, comedy and music specials and hard-hitting sports. SHOWTIME is available as a stand-alone streaming service across all major streaming devices and Showtime.com, as well as via cable, DBS, telco and streaming video providers. SNI also operates the premium services THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as on demand versions of all three brands. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.