Bellator 295 Predictions – Raufeon Stots vs. Patchy Mix: Fight Map, Odds, Start Time, How To Watch

As Raufeon Stots and Patchy Mix progressed at the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix, so did the rewards. Bellator 295 is hosting the tournament finals on Saturday night with a provisional championship, $1 million in prize money and a potential fight with Bellator’s all-time best at stake.

Stots (19-1) became the face of the Grand Prix after the injury-related retirement of bantamweight champion – and former training partner – Sergio Pettis. Stots scored a shocking head kick knockout on Juan Archuleta to secure the interim bantamweight championship in the quarterfinals. Stots is brimming with confidence after an odd win over Danny Sabatello in the semifinals.

“When we’re at the end, brother, you don’t dictate anything. You can’t dictate anything,” Stots told CBS Sports of Mix. “You’re going to react to what the hell I have to do. I feel like our skills are different there. I feel like I’ve shown, and that’s in fights, that I’m a better striker. He didn’t show that in fights. It was put together by James Gallagher, what’s that boy’s name? It was put together by Gallagher.

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Mix (17-1) has no doubt his grappling stots will overpower despite the interim champion’s wrestling credentials. Mix emerged from the tournament as a Darkhorse contender after defeating Grand Prix favorite Kyoji Horiguchi. He emerged as the betting favorite after beating Magomed Magomedov in the semifinals. For Mix, Stots isn’t the end goal, it’s the first step to becoming a superstar. After that comes a unification bout against Pettis or possibly the two-division champion and all-time great pit bull.

“If you look at my horiguchi fight, I was able to get a takedown in the first 10 seconds of round 5 because I work so much harder in the gym. I’ve completely changed my workout habits and lifestyle,” Mix told CBS Sports. “Now is my time. I’m fully mature this time. I’m three years older. I’m not coming for one title, I’m coming for many. This is just my step to my first. This is my step to fame. I will win the Grand Prix title. I’m going to rip Raufeon Stots’ provisional belt off his arm and I’m going to take that $1 million from him. I’m going to get him to stop. He’s going to give me that $1 million on Saturday.”

The undercard is filled with a little more Hawaiian flair. Hometown heroine Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is back in a women’s flyweight bout against Kana Watanabe in the co-main event. The winner of Saturday’s fight will be in prime position to claim her next shot at the title from Liz Carmouche, which she defended against DeAnna Bennett on Friday night. Also, perennial featherweight contender Aaron Pico appears to be recovering from a nasty shoulder injury when he takes on James Gonzalez. And another Hawaiian, Yancy Medeiros, is looking to extend his win last April when he takes on Charlie Leary at welterweight.

“When you’re in the public spotlight, you get scrutinized so closely. It doesn’t matter what you do, you will always have trolls. But for every negative comment I’ve heard or felt, I get tenfold in love and support,” Macfarlane said. “That’s why I say Hawaii, I can say that without a doubt, has the best support system. Especially when I’m telling my story about it told what happened when I was younger, the support was overwhelming and I give Hawaii credit for that.

“I think like you said, foot in foot out, that’s how I’ve felt in every fight. Even when I was going for the belt, when I got the belt, I was always like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this.’ But I am now in another chapter in my life where it is ending so I want to finish strong and leave a legacy that I belong on the top, that I have done my job and that I am respected as a fighter for my skills and that, what I do both in and out of the cage. I want to end on a good note; even if it’s a loss, I want it to be a tough fight.”

Below is the rest of Saturday night’s fight card with the latest odds from Caesars Sportsbook before we come to a prediction and settle on the main event.

Bellator 295 fight card, odds

Viewing Information

• Date: April 22 | Start time: 11 p.m. ET
• Location: Neal S. Blaisdell Arena – Honolulu, Hawaii
• TV channel: show time

forecast

Raufeon Stots vs Patchy Mix: Mix is ​​a slight favorite going into the finals, and rightly so. His victory over Magomedov was very impressive. Meanwhile, Stots had a nap against one-dimensional wrestler Sabatello. Stots took responsibility for his performance against Sabatello, a fight in which he was repeatedly held down. Stots told CBS Sports he was so dismissive of Sabatello that he didn’t practice with wrestlers before the fight. The interim champion seems much better prepared for Mix, training with UFC fighters Cory Sandhagen and Ryan Hall to prepare for Mix’s suffocating clashes and menacing submissions.

Stots has the speed and punching advantage but needs to show more resilience with his defensive wrestling. Mix will need to dictate the terms of the exchange if he wants to progress on the scorecards. The most likely outcome is Mix, the larger fighter, pushing and neutralizing Stots while looking for submission. It’s a toss-up, a mix wins mostly, but something whispers in my ear that Stots will edge out the late rounds for a narrow decision win. Stots about split decision