Fight Facts: Bellator 289 ‘Stots vs. Sabatello’

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

* * *

TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR FIGHTS: 3,236
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS: 291

Bellator MMA ended its 2022 campaign by setting up the finals of the bantamweight grand prix. Two belts – one interim and the other undisputed – were on the line by night’s end, and both remained around the waists of their holders. Bellator 289 featured the biggest betting upset in company history, a 38-year-old champ who has found her groove and a unique occurrence involving mixed scorecards.

Not One, but Two Funny Crosby Scorecards: Throughout the course of the night, four fights ended by decision with the judges split. This tally is one shy of the record set by Bellator 239 in 2020, although that event had 16 bouts compared to Bellator 289’s 11.

Split ‘Em Up: The event began with Cass Bell beating Jared Scoggins by split decision, and it concluded with Raufeon Stots winning a split call over Danny Sabatello. This is the first card to ever start and end with split decisions, although Bellator 131 commenced with a split draw and ended with split decision.

More Than Keeping His Seat Warm: With 135-pound king Sergio Pettis sidelined for the duration of the bantamweight tourney, Stots ended up keeping his grip on his interim strap against Sabatello. Stots is the first fighter in Bellator history to register a successful defense of an interim throne.

Investigate Crosby: While judge Doug Crosby inexplicably turned in a 50-45 scorecard for Sabatello, he was overruled by Eric Colon and Bryan Miner to award the win to Stots. The victory on split tallies is the first of its kind in a Bellator bantamweight championship affair.

Interim Interim: Even though it is of the interim variety, Stots became the fourth champion in divisional history to actually defend his crown. The first three to achieve this were Eduardo Dantas (twice), Darrion Caldwell and Pettis.

From Armbarred to Armbarrer: Liz Carmouche staved off ex-champ Juliana Velasquez with a second-round armbar to notch her first defense as the women’s flyweight queen. Every titleholder in the division’s history has defended their gold at least once following that performance.

The Change in Competition: Just over two years into her Bellator tenure, Carmouche has earned five wins in five appearances. Tying Cristiane Justino and several other women, only eight other female fighters in company history have won more times than Carmouche.

No Longer a Grinder: Of her five victories thus far as a Bellator fighter, Carmouche has ended four of those wins inside the distance. “Girl-Rilla” ties Arlene Blencowe, Justino and Sumiko Inaba for the third-most finishes in Bellator women’s divisional history. Denise Kielholtz (five) and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (seven) hold the top spots.

In the Mix for a Million Bucks: To advance to the finals against Stots, Patrick Mix put Magomed Magomedov to sleep with a guillotine choke in Round 2. Mix’s five submissions in Bellator matches scheduled at bantamweight are more than any other competitor in league history.

Angola, NY, Stand Up: “Patchy” Mix elevated his career finish rate to 76% by putting Magomedov away. As a pro, 12 of the 17 wins for Mix have come by submission, including seven of his last eight triumphs.

Nobody Ever Wins a Fight: Dalton Rosta took home a clear-cut decision win over Anthony Adams to improve his spotless record to 8-0. All eight bouts have come in the Bellator cage, although four of his last five have needed three full rounds to conclude.

Small Gap Between Challenger and Castout: In a close call, Ilara Joanne handed Denise Kielholtz a loss by split decision. The fourth defeat for Kielholtz as a Bellator fighter puts her one shy of the flyweight division’s record of five, held by Alejandra Lara.

Real McCoy: Over the course of their 15-minute encounter, Jaleel Willis did enough to get his hand raised against Kyle Crutchmer. With a decision rate of 69%, “The Realest” has needed to involve the judges in all of his last seven triumphs.

Down Goes Downey: At astronomical +1250 odds, Christian Echols wrecked -2000 1-0 wrestler Pat Downey just before the midpoint of Round 1. This upset is the largest in Bellator history, eclipsing Emanuel Newton’s +975 shocker of a spinning back fist over Muhammad Lawal (-1175) at Bellator 90 in 2013.

A Striking Hawaiian: In the third round, Kai Kamaka III stopped Kevin Boehm with punches. The win by knockout marked the first for the Hawaiian, who had earned his previous seven wins by decision.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into Bellator 289, Sabatello had never lost on the scorecards (14 fights), Velasquez had never been submitted (13 fights) and Magomedov had never been finished (21 fights).