ATT’s Danny Sabatello in the Bellator 289 main event. Cody Law, Dalton Rosta also on the card

When the Bantamweight World Grand Prix semifinals occur at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, two brash trash-talkers, interim titleholder Raufeon Stots (18-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) and No.6-ranked Danny Sabatello (13-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA), will finally settle the score after a months-long buildup to their fight.

It’s Bellator 289 on Showtime in Uncasville, Connecticut.

“The Italian Gangster” Danny Sabatello of American Top Team is in the main event of Bellator 289 on Dec. 9 via Showtime.
“The Italian Gangster” Danny Sabatello of American Top Team is in the main event of Bellator 289 on Dec. 9 via Showtime.

After Sabatello of American Top Team scored a dominant unanimous decision victory over Leandro Higo in June, Stots was there, too, to face-off with his future foe in the center of the Bellator cage. What ensued from the crowd in attendance and the fans around the world was a very clear organic development of one of the greatest “Babyface” (Stots) vs. “Heel” (Sabatello) matchups in Bellator history.

Raufeon “Supa” Stots has been perfect in his first six fights with Bellator, which earned him a spot in the Bantamweight World Grand Prix to face friend and training partner Sergio Pettis for the Bantamweight World Title. After Pettis sustained an injury, the bracket was reshuffled, and Stots faced former champion Juan Archuleta at Bellator 279, capturing the interim title with a third-round head kick KO.

Stots, who developed his MMA chops primarily at the famed Roufusport Academy, was a two-time NCAA Division II wrestling national champion for the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

For Danny “The Italian Gangster” Sabatello, the road was a slightly longer one as the ATT prospect had to compete in a wild-card matchup against Jornel Lugo at Bellator 278, whom he dispatched via unanimous decision, before making his way to his quarterfinal matchup with Higo.

My video interview with ATT’s Danny Sabatello about Bellator 289 and more.

The Purdue wrestling standout has effectively used his ground game to subdue his opponents and grind out dominant victories inside the Bellator cage. Sabatello has leaned into his heel character to perfection and his trash talking has definitely earned him his fair share of attention. The two have been on a collision course for months, and they’re about to see who has what it takes to move onto the finals for their shot at the million-dollar prize.

Danny Sabatello of American Top Team is in the main event of Bellator 289 on Dec. 9 via Showtime.
Danny Sabatello of American Top Team is in the main event of Bellator 289 on Dec. 9 via Showtime.

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/shockthisworld

More standout ATT fighters at Bellator 289

Bellator MMA’s No. 5-ranked and No. 10-ranked middleweight contenders will clash when undefeated American Top Team export Dalton “Hercules” Rosta (7-0) battles Elevation Fight Team’s Anthony “Sugafoot” Adams (9-2) in the final main card bout of the championship doubleheader-led BELLATOR 289 event at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. on Dec. 9.

Dalton “Hercules” Rosta of American Top Team is on the main card of Bellator MMA 289 on Dec. 9 on Showtime.
Dalton “Hercules” Rosta of American Top Team is on the main card of Bellator MMA 289 on Dec. 9 on Showtime.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/daltonrosta

My video interview with ATT’s Dalton Rosta about Bellator 289 and more.

Additionally, four high-stakes bouts between emerging contenders have been added to the event’s preliminary card. At flyweight, No. 7-ranked pound-for-pound female talent and No. 3 contender Denise “Miss Dynamite” Kielholtz (6-4) will take on Brazil’s Ilara “Arya Stark” Joanne (10-6), and top Canadian prospect Randi “Rose City Phoenix” Field (3-1) faces New England’s Kristina “The Meat Grinder” Katsikis (1-2).

Also, wrestling phenom and MMA newcomer Pat Downey (1-0) will look to score his second straight victory against Christian “The Vanilla Gorilla” Echols (2-2) at middleweight, and standout welterweight prospects Kyle Crutchmer (9-1) and former LFA champion Jaleel “The Realest” Willis (15-4) will also clash during the preliminary portion of the show.

The aforementioned contests have been added to a card that already features the continuation of the BELLATOR Bantamweight World Grand Prix semifinals as Raufeon Stots (18-1) defends his interim championship opposite fast-rising star, the No. 6-ranked “Italian Gangster” Danny Sabatello (13-1), and No. 2-ranked Patchy Mix (16-1) takes on No. 3-ranked Magomed Magomedov (19-2).

A Bellator flyweight world championship rematch between Liz Carmouche (17-7) and the woman she defeated for the title, Juliana Velasquez (12-1), is set for the co-main event slot.

All the action will air live on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, while the preliminary portion of the event will air free-to-watch beginning at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel, the Showtime Sports YouTube channel, and Pluto TV.

Tickets for the event are currently on sale at both Ticketmaster.com and Bellator.com.

More about Bellator 289

No. 5-ranked middleweight contender Dalton “Hercules” Rosta has, like his namesake, conquered every task put in front of him to date. A perfect 7-0 in as many professional fights, Rosta earned the biggest victory of his career this summer when he Superman-punched Romero Cotton into a third-round TKO, settling their long-awaited grudge match in highlight fashion.

Dalton “Hercules” Rosta of American Top Team is on the main card of Bellator MMA 289 on Dec. 9 on Showtime.
Dalton “Hercules” Rosta of American Top Team is on the main card of Bellator MMA 289 on Dec. 9 on Showtime.

The American Top Team product combines a well-developed wrestling base with an ever-increasing striking acumen to dominate his opponents, and he will face his first ranked opponent at Bellator 289 when he takes on No. 9-ranked Anthony Adams eager to keep his flawless record and place among the division’s elite intact.

Looking to hand the 27-year-old Rosta his first-ever defeat is No. 10-ranked Anthony “Sugafoot” Adams (9-2), who earned a multi-fight BELLATOR contract with his upset victory over Khalid Murtazaliev in September 2021.

Two fights have since fizzled out before the Elevation Fight Team standout could add a second Bellator win to his resume, but Adams will be eager to get back to his winning ways against a hyped opponent in Dalton Rosta.

Adams, 34, knows that the time for a run at the Bellator middleweight title, coincidentally held by Rosta’s teammate Johnny Eblen, is now; a win over Rosta would surely see Adams climb ever closer to a coveted title shot.

NOTE: Rosta has appeared on All Elite Wrestling with other ATT fighters and ATT co-founder Dan Lambert during a couple of AEW’s prime-time TV shows.

Cody Law of American Top Team is in the prelims of Bellator 289 on Dec. 9 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Cody Law of American Top Team is in the prelims of Bellator 289 on Dec. 9 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Featherweight Cody Law (6-1) of American Top Team battles Cris Lencioni (9-3) during the prelims. Law, a decorated wrestler won his first six Bellator fights before dropping his first one at Bellator 282. Learning from the setback -- something he’s done before -- the cool, clam and collective fighter now looks to return to the win column at Bellator 289.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/codylaw_160

My video interview with ATT’s Cody Law about Bellator 289 and more.

In another flyweight matchup with rankings implications, Bellator’s No. 7 pound-for-pound female talent and No. 3-ranked contender Denise “Miss Dynamite” Kielholtz (6-4) returns to the Bellator cage for the first time since picking up a kickboxing win on October 29.

Kielholtz, 33, began her promotional tenure under the Bellator kickboxing banner, where she earned acclaim for his striking prowess. As an MMA fighter, she has found similar success; her six victories include five finishes, with the Netherlands native scoring three submissions and two knockouts in a display of her well-roundness. On December 9, she will look to get back on track and defend her place in flyweight’s upper echelon against Ilara Joanne.

Inspired by the success of her teammates, Bellator Patricio and Patricky Pitbull, Ilara “Arya Stark” Joanne (10-6) will seek to break into the flyweight rankings with a win over Kielholtz on Bellator 289. The 28-year-old is a proven finisher, totaling four knockouts and three submissions across her ten professional victories.

Notably, she submitted Bec Rawlings (8-9) by kneebar to kick off her Bellator tenure in 2019. Joanne returned to the win column in June after a thrilling unanimous decision win over Colombia’s Alejandra Lara (9-6). The Brazilian will look to build upon her momentum and earn a number next to her name with an upset over Kielholtz at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Dec. 9.

A two-time NCAA D-I All-American and Big 12 champion at Oklahoma State University, Kyle Crutchmer (9-1) represents Bellator’s penchant for developing high-level amateur wrestlers into world-class mixed martial artists. The 29-year-old American Kickboxing Academy product signed with Bellator in 2019 after a blistering start to his MMA career replete with three emphatic knockouts.

Crutchmer has been nearly flawless inside the Bellator cage ever since, scoring dominant decision victories over dangerous opponents in Levan Chokheli (10-2), Oliver Enkamp (11-3), and Michael Lombardo (12-3). On the strength of a three-fight winning streak, Crutchmer will look to vault himself ever-closer to the divisional rankings with a victory over Jaleel Willis at Bellator 288.

Eager to get back into the win column and defeat a fellow prospect in Crutchmer, former LFA welterweight champion Jaleel “The Realest” Willis (15-4). The Tennessee native made an immediate impression on Bellator fans when he picked up decision wins over Mark Lemminger (12-5) and fellow LFA royalty Maycon Mendonça (11-6) in back-to-back fights but came up short in his last two outings.

The rangy Willis will look to keep Crutchmer at bay in their preliminary match-up as he looks to return to his winning ways and reinsert his name into the conversation in the shark tank that is Bellator’s welterweight division.

Back at 185 pounds, former NCAA D-I All-American and NJCAA national champion Pat Downey III (1-0) will look to follow up his sensational MMA debut in August with a second straight victory inside the cage at Bellator 289.

The decorated amateur wrestler looked unstoppable in August, winning by arm triangle choke submission just 36 seconds into the first round of his professional career. Downey will look to continue his flawless transition to mixed martial arts against 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Decatur brown belt Christian “The Vanilla Gorilla” Echols (2-2) on the preliminary card.

Finally, one of Canada’s brightest MMA prospects, flyweight Randi “Rose City Phoenix” Field (3-1), is set to grace the Bellator cage in search of her second consecutive victory on December 9 when she takes on Kristina Katsikis. Field, 32, faced fellow top up-and-comer Sumiko Inaba (5-0) in her Bellator debut, a sign of just how highly the MMA community viewed her potential in the flyweight division.

She earned her first Bellator victory in April, defeating Maraya Miller (1-2) by second-round submission as part of the Bellator 279 event. She will look to improve to 4-1 with an impressive performance against Katsikis in Connecticut.

Looking to derail Field’s hype train is New England’s Kristina “The Meat Grinder” Katsikis (1-2), 31. Katsikis also made her promotional debut with Bellator against Inaba, and she has since frequented the submission grappling scene to test her skills across the combat sports spectrum. Katsikis will return to the Bellator cage as the promotion returns to the Northeast, hungry to score what would be the biggest win of her professional career to date against the highly-touted Randi Field on Dec. 9.

For more information on upcoming Bellator MMA events, visit Bellator.com.

Tickets are on sale and available at www.Bellator.com and www.Ticketmaster.com.

Twitter: AmericanTopTeam

BELLATOR 289: STOTS VS. SABATELLO MAIN CARD

SHOWTIME

Friday, Dec. 9 — 9 PM ET/6 PM PT

Bantamweight World Grand Prix Semifinal: IC-Raufeon Stots (18-1) vs. #6-Danny Sabatello (13-1)

Flyweight World Title Bout: C-Liz Carmouche (17-7) vs. #1-Juliana Velasquez (12-1)

Bantamweight World Grand Prix Semifinal: #2- Patchy Mix (16-1) vs. #3-Magomed Magomedov (19-2)

Middleweight Bout: #5-Dalton Rosta (7-0) vs. #10-Anthony Adams (9-2)

BELLATOR 289: STOTS VS. SABATELLO PRELIMINARY CARD

BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel | Pluto TV

5 PM ET/2 PM PT

Flyweight Bout: #3-Denise Kielholtz (6-4) vs. Ilara Joanne (10-6)

Featherweight Bout: Cody Law (6-1) vs. Cris Lencioni (9-3)

Welterweight Bout: Kyle Crutchmer (9-1) vs. Jaleel Willis (15-4)

Featherweight Bout: Kai Kamaka (9-5-1) vs. Kevin Boehm (9-5)

Welterweight Bout: Mark Lemminger (12-5) vs. Michael Lombardo (12-3-1)

Middleweight Bout: Pat Downey (1-0) vs. Christian Echols (2-2)

Bantamweight Bout: Cass Bell (5-2) vs. Jared Scoggins (10-2)

Flyweight Bout: Randi Field (3-1) vs. Kristina Katsikis (1-2)

Middleweight Bout: Theo Haig (1-0) vs. Kareem Kline (1-2)

*Card subject to change

Visit Bellator.com for additional information.

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