Scouting Report: Raufeon Stots

Raufeon Stots

Born: Dec. 16, 1988 (Age: 34) in Houston
Division: Bantamweight
Height: 5’7”
Reach: 72.5”
Record: 19-1 (7-0 Bellator)
Association: Roufusport
Stage of Career: Prime to Post-Prime

Summary: Stots is not the fanciest fighter, nor does he possess the kind of big power that leads to many finishes. However, he is an exceptionally skilled, talented competitor who lacks any real weaknesses and can beat opponents in a variety of ways. Against those lacking in the wrestling department, he can secure takedowns with his outstanding, perfectly timed shot and advance to the back. He may not get a submission, but his stellar cardio allows him to do this for five rounds, if necessary. If he is facing a good grappler, Stots has a nice jab, a slick one-two and powerful, effective kicks; the head kick yielded the most memorable highlight of his career against Juan Archuleta. It is possible to have success against Stots on the feet since he throws a punch at a time and lacks power, and some of the best grapplers at bantamweight can take him down, though he excels at getting back up, avoids absorbing ground-and-pound and defends submissions perfectly. Beating Stots requires an opponent to surpass him in the striking and grappling phases while matching his top-notch conditioning—a tall order indeed.

STRIKING

• Stance: Southpaw.
• Hand Speed: Average.
• Jab: Nice snap and technique, with solid accuracy.
• Cross: Offers almost everything one could want except for power, where it is sorely lacking. Other than that, it is a sudden, straight, technical and accurate shot.
• Right Hook: Thrown with a solid arc, but it is telegraphed and lacks power.
• Overhand Left: Virtually never throws it.
• Uppercuts: Almost never uses them.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Throws a strike at a time normally, which is unfortunate, since throwing punches in bunches could make up for his lack of power.
• Favorite Combination(s): The one-two, which is slick, fluid and accurate. However, the left cross is sorely lacking in power.
• Leg Kicks: Powerful shots, but he loads up a little too much, making them telegraphed and easier to dodge. Effective when they land.
• Body Kicks: Depends on the variation. The front kick is technical and reasonably fast but lacks a little power. Roundhouse kicks to the body are better, as he really steps into them and extends well, with speed, suddenness and power.
• Head Kicks: Thrown suddenly without any telegraph, and they are technical and fairly fast. Explosive shots with plenty of power.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.

Stots is a solid striker. However, he sorely lacks power in his dominant left hand and only throws a strike at a time, which exacerbates the problem. With that said, he is proficient with the few strikes he chooses to use over and over again. It all starts with a strong jab, which is straight, technical accurate, and decently hard—a shot with which he catches opponents time and again. He can throw a stout, slick and fluid one-two behind it, and the two has everything one could want in that punch, sans power. Stots features a dynamic, fast and powerful head kick he used to become the first person to knock out Archuleta. His body kick from the southpaw stance is almost as good, and he would benefit from using it more. Stots is somewhat limited aside from that repertoire, as his right hook and leg kicks are effective blows, but they are generally telegraphed and relatively easy to avoid.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: Holds his own against powerful wrestlers but usually ends up being pushed into the cage.
• Technique: Shows excellent balance and fights for underhooks.
• Knees: Can land an athletic shot to the face when an opponent grinds for a takedown, but they lack power and are thrown sporadically, especially those to the body.
• Elbows: Fires them to the head of an opponent to help defend against takedowns and has been known to throw them to the body when he falls into a defensive position.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Pushes off well enough to create space, but he can be vulnerable to knees to the body, especially from larger opponents.

Stots can be pushed up against the cage by superior wrestlers, though he is quite difficult to take down thanks to his strength and technique. On the flipside, his only real offense in close quarters is when opponents change levels to grind for takedowns, as he unleashes solid elbows to the head and body; his knees lack power. Opponents can also have some success with knees to Stots’ body before he spins off the cage.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: He leans on perfectly timed double-legs that he can complete even against excellent wrestlers. For instance, he used a beautiful double-leg against Archuleta where he ducked down underneath the Californian’s right cross.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Not as potent as his shots, but he did muscle through a double-leg in the clinch against Danny Sabatello.
• Takedown Defense: Excellent but not impenetrable. He defended well against Archuleta in the clinch and stopped most of Sabatello’s shots. However, he was also hit by a beautiful single-leg from Archuleta, along with a mat return and turning inside trip by Sabatello.
• Ability to Return to Feet: Agile on the ground, which allows him to immediately sit up against the cage. From there, he wall walks back up, though he is careful not to surrender his neck or expose himself in grappling and striking opportunities. He often succeeds at getting separation when his back is on the ground, then starts to build back his base. Stots uses Granby rolls effectively, too.
• Submissions: Agile and quick at taking the back against most opponents, his efforts sometimes including heavy hip rides. He has cinched four rear-naked chokes by such means, most recently against Cass Bell. However, this likely will not work against opponents at his current high level of competition.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: He manages to create separation and sit up quickly, and he employs textbook defense against submissions when he finds himself in bad positions. • Top Control: Somewhat difficult to say since he has faced so many good grapplers. If he cannot take the back, opponents get up fairly easily and quickly.
• Ground-and-Pound: Struggles to get many shots off. Often lacks impact.

Stots is an excellent wrestler. He can absolutely use his grappling to best a number of opponents, especially thanks to a fantastic shot he times perfectly with their strikes. On the ground, he is agile at taking the back and can even finish with a rear-naked choke, though his ground-and-pound offers little concern. However, against some of the outstanding grapplers at bantamweight, Stots can find himself at a disadvantage. He is difficult to take down, though it can be done. He is also excellent at getting back up and avoiding any truly bad positions. While he may avoid ground-and-pound and submissions, he can lose rounds under these conditions. Thus far, he has managed to avoid defeat, so it remains a difficult needle for opponents to thread, even for grapplers as good as Sabatello, Archuleta and Magomed Magomedov.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Fluid, dynamic and powerful for his size.
• Cardio: Exceptional. He managed to keep up with Sabatello’s breakneck pace of constant chain wrestling, scrambles and strikes for five rounds, barely slowing down while doing so.
• Chin: Still an unknown. He has never been hurt by an opponent, but he has also not faced a big hitter.
• Recuperative Powers: Impossible to say.
• Intelligence: Fights in a calm manner and generally avoids mistakes. He has some ability to change approaches based on his opponent, too. Sometimes, he competes in too much of a care-free manner, allowing less-skilled opponents to potentially steal rounds or at least make them close.