Scott Coker leaning toward bantamweight grand prix after Raufeon Stots' Bellator 264 win
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Raufeon Stots’ upset of Magomed Magomedov at Bellator 264 on Friday may have clinched the promotion’s next grand prix.
Stots (17-1 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) stayed unbeaten under the Bellator banner with a unanimous decision over Magomedov (18-2 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) in a key bantamweight bout on the main card. After champion Sergio Pettis, Bellator’s official rankings have Juan Archuleta and Patchy Mix in the top two spots.
Magomedov was No. 3 heading into Bellator 264 with Stots right behind him at No. 4. Stots almost certainly will move up a spot when the new rankings come out next week. But what might be even more important to him is his performance seemed to strike a nerve with Bellator president Scott Coker.
After Stots’ win, he contemplated the chances he could get an eventual title shot with Pettis – one of his teammates at Roufusport in Milwaukee. And absent that, he suggested a bantamweight tournament – which Coker might be on board with.
“Stots – wow. I mean, wow,” Coker told MMA Junkie after Bellator 264 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. “That kid is amazing. He fought a tough, tough, tough Magomedov and I think he clearly won.
“I know sooner or later, people are going to start talking about or whispering about the 135-pound tournament. I think it’s more and more likely that we’re going to head in that direction. We’ve got some great 135s, and maybe next year that will be the division (we do a tournament with). But when you see performances like that from Stots, I was really, really impressed.”
The 32-year-old Stots at times outwrestled Magomedov, known for his grappling, en route to the decision win – including a pair of 30-27 scores. It was his third straigght decision win, but over his most accomplished opponent yet in Bellator.
Pettis won the title in May with a unanimous decision over Archuleta. After 14 fights in the UFC, Pettis moved to Bellator and won the belt in his third fight in the promotion.
Bellator just wrapped up a featherweight tournament and the semifinals of its ongoing light heavyweight grand prix are set for October.