Juan Archuleta replaces Sergio Pettis, faces Raufeon Stots at Bellator 279
We’ve recently been informed that Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis has withdrawn from his upcoming title defense opposing Raufeon Stots, which was to go down on April 23, 2022, at Bellator 279.
Considering the champion acquired an injury in camp that required surgery, he’ll now be replaced by former champion Juan Archuleta, the man Pettis took the bantamweight championship from.
Juan Archuleta is now scheduled to face Raufeon Stots for the interim Bellator bantamweight championship.
Archuleta is not only a former Bellator champion, but he’s a four-division KOTC champion as well. He comes into this fight with a record of 25-3, having gone 7-2 thus far in Bellator, only losing to Patricio Freire and Sergio Pettis, two of the best fighters the promotion has ever had to offer, and both of which were title fights.
Then we have Raufeon Stots, who’s a former VFC bantamweight champion that comes in with a record 17-1, having gone 5-0 thus far in Bellator.
What’s more, he’s only ever lost to Merab Dvalishvili, someone who’s broken about ten records inside the UFC that’s also on a seven-fight win streak in the promotion.
Stots is also a two-time NCAA Division II national champion, a two-time NCAA Division II All-American, and a one-time NJCAA All-American.
Both of these men are incredibly dominant in what they do. Archuleta is a very sound striker with a seemingly endless lung capacity, he also has a good ground game; he’s a very well-rounded talent.
Stots on the other hand is one of the better wrestlers, and one of the better athletes we have in the sport. He also has some very creative striking, and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Magomed Magomedov, the only man to ever truly defeat Petr Yan.
Who do you see coming out on top in this bantamweight championship bout?
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