Raufeon Stots Says Danny Sabatello Was Good for His Career: ‘I Needed a Villain’

After plenty of bad blood in the buildup to their fight, Raufeon Stots got the last laugh against Danny Sabatello at Bellator 289.

Thanks to a steady jab, a solid sprawl and an active ground game, Stots retained the interim bantamweight crown and advanced to the grand prix finals with a split-decision triumph over Sabatello at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Friday night. While Sabatello did land a few takedowns to rack up control time, he didn’t do all that much with positioning when he had it. Still, one judge awarded the American Top Team product with a 50-45 scorecard.

“I was surprised with the 50-45,” Stots said at the Bellator 289 post-fight press conference. “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.”

Stots, who threatened with a kneebar in the second round and bloodied Sabatello with elbows in the final stanza, was disappointed he was unable to finish his adversary.

“I’m satisfied that I got the win, but I wanted to get that motherf—-ker out of there,” Stots said. “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.”

In hindsight, Stots can appreciate what the outspoken Sabatello brought to the promotion of their bout.

“I think [Sabatello] was great for my career,” Stots said. “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 s—t 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.”

While a rematch with Sabatello may very well be in the cards, the first order of business is the grand prix finals matchup against Patrick Mix, who scored a second-round submission of Magomed Magomedov in the other half of the bantamweight bracket. A date for that bout has yet to be announced.

“I saw glimpses of [his fight]. I saw the finish. I know Patchy’s good on the ground, but you’re not better than me at mixed martial arts,” Stots said. “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.”