Bellator 289 Post Fight Press Conference: We hear from interim bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots, Danny Sabatello, and Bellator President Scott Coker after an entertaining Bellator 289 main event with a heavily debated split decision in favor of Stots! Plus: Scott Coker on Rafeon Stots vs. Patrick Patchy Mix, Liz Carmouche’s bantamweight hopes, the RIZIN cross promotion New Year’s Eve event, Dillon Danis’ MMA status, and the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader fight taking place Feb. 4 on CBS!

Stots Quotes Courtesy of Bellator: “I’m satisfied that I got the win, but I wanted to get that motherf*cker out of there. That’s the most satisfying given the talk he was talking. I’m glad to be the one to shut him up for a little bit. I can sleep at night knowing that.”

“I thought about that backstage. You know what? The fans not really liking him, so I’m going to give them something they’d enjoy after the fight.”

“I was surprised with the 50-45. I believe he was trying to control; we know that’s his game, but he did no damage. I did the things I was supposed to do. I was progressing toward the finish, he was trying to stall the fight out. Just because you hold somebody’s legs doesn’t mean you should win a fight, and that’s how I think it should be. This is mixed martial arts.”

“My coaches were giving me sense of urgency. That’s his whole game; he’s gonna try to hold me. He was good enough to get past a lot of my defenses, but ultimately, he wasn’t able to do anything with the positions and I was able to escape. I was able to reverse him or escape the majority of the time.”

“I saw glimpses of [Patchy Mix’s fight]. I saw the finish. I know Patchy’s good on the ground, but you’re not better than me at mixed martial arts. You’ve got to get past a lot of things to get to that position. I’ve got amazing submission defense and wrestling. I’m looking forward to that fight because he’s proving himself as one of the greats. He’s deserving of the spot. I’m looking forward to putting my fist through the gap in his teeth.”

“It’s just everything that I said was going to happen, happened. It’s gratifying. I wanted to finish him and disable him for a little bit, but I got the win. I’m gonna sleep well for a little bit. I’m probably gonna keep trolling him for a bit.”

“I think [Sabatello] was great for my career. He was a great step for me. I needed a villain, someone people thought could hang with me and challenge me. His skills were better than I thought they were, but I still won, so I’m still gonna talk shit to him… I think he’ll be back. I think he’ll learn from this loss and be better for it. Hopefully I see him again, because this was a fun fight and a fun buildup, so hopefully.”

“Sabatello didn’t hit me with anything, so if [Mix] is ready to go, I’m ready to go. I’m ready to go for February.”

Sabatello Quotes Courtesy of Bellator: “I’m pissed off. I think I won that fight, my team thinks I won that fight. I take full responsibility for the loss. Every time you lose a decision, you could have stopped the guy. I don’t know how the f*ck I lost the fight. I think the judges f*cked this fight. I don’t know how one judge has 50-45 and the others get it wrong.”

“Regardless of how I view the outcome of the fight, I go back to ATT and go balls to the f8cking wall to get back to that belt. This is just a speedbump for me. I’ll always be motivated for the next one. I still think that I’m the best fucking bantamweight in the world. It’s just three f*cking people that don’t know what they’re looking at. I had over 10 minutes of control time, and he had under a minute. He threw a lot of strikes that don’t land. I don’t have a bump or bruise on me. It’s very frustrating because I thought I won, but I don’t make excuses and it’s my responsibility.

“A loss like this, you gotta go back and work on techniques to trick the judges. If I throw a lot of punches that don’t land, it’s gonna convince the judges. Make it look like I’m winning even when I’m controlling. I got to go back and watch the fight, but nothing changes; I’ll go back and become a better martial artist.”

“I think I won four rounds to one. I think the only round he won, possibly, was the third round. If you’re throwing volume, it might look like you’re winning to someone who doesn’t know MMA. It has not become a fight, it has become how to trick the judges.”

“Me and him are never gonna see eye to eye. None of this was fake. This shit’s not over. If it was up to me, I’d fight him again in 15 minutes. We will meet again. I will beat him again, but I’ll throw more volume in addition to the control.”

On why he chose to address the media despite not being obligated to after a loss: “Something that I’ll reiterate: whether I win or lose, nothing changes. The only thing that changes is my phone’s gonna blow up with haters. I don’t care about them; they’ll never say it to my face. I’m the most pissed off ever, because I think I won this fight. It just sucks because in this sport, it comes down to three f*cking people.”

Bellator 289: Stots vs. Sabatello Results

IC-Raufeon Stots (19-1) defeated #6-Danny Sabatello (13-2) via split decision (48-47, 45-50, 48-47) to retain the Bellator interim bantamweight world championship and advance to the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix Finals vs. Patrick Patchy Mix

C–Liz Carmouche (18-7) defeated #1-Juliana Velasquez (12-2) via submission (armbar) at 4:24 of round two to retain the Bellator flyweight world championship

#2– Patchy Mix (17-1) defeated #4-Magomed Magomedov (19-3) via technical submission (guillotine choke) at 2:39 of round two to advance to the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix Finals

#5-Dalton Rosta (8-0) defeated #10-Anthony Adams (9-3) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

BELLATOR 289 PRELIMS 

Ilara Joanne (11-6) defeated #3-Denise Kielholtz (6-5) via split decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Jaleel Willis (16-4) defeated #8-Kyle Crutchmer (9-2) via unanimous decision

Cris Lencioni (10-3) defeated Cody Law (6-2) via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27) 

Christian Echols (3-2) defeated Pat Downey (1-1)via KO (punch) at 2:27 of round one

Kai Kamaka III (10-5-1) defeated Kevin Boehm (9-6) via TKO (punches) at 2:23 of round three

Michael Lombardo (13-5) defeated Mark Lemminger (12-4) via KO (punch) at 4:23 of round one

Cass Bell (6-2) defeated Jared Scoggins (10-3) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

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