Bellator MMA News & FeaturesJason Jackson Lives Up to Moniker with Earth-Shattering Performance at Bellator 301
UNDENIABLE 😱@TAKM_MMA has done the unthinkable! He stops @YaroslavAmosov!!! #Bellator301 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/g1qJ1hxUp9
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 18, 2023
They call him “The Ass Kicking Machine” for a reason.
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Jackson (17-4) may have come in as the underdog but after winning his last six fights, the Kingston, Jamaica, native fought with the poise of a polished champion. Amosov tried desperately to get the heavy hitter to the mat and Jackson turned him away at every opportunity.
Forced to engage with him on the feet, Amosov looked to bait
Jackson into a big shot or a takedown, but again Jackson wouldn’t
budge. Once Jackson found his preferred range he maintained it.
With Jackson calmly closing off the cage, Amosov became more desperate and began telegraphing his shots, which only made things worse for the longtime champ. Jackson snapped his head back with rear uppercuts and jabs before scurrying back to his range on the outside. Amosov simply couldn’t keep up with the boxing lesson he was being given.
As the fight wore on things only got worse for the champion. Amosov, desperate to find something, only opened himself up to more punishment. Midway through the third round he’d finally have enough.
Jackson closed the show and claimed the belt with a devastatingly crisp three-punch combination that brought Amosov to his knees. With nothing left between him and the belt, Jackson followed up with blows until referee Blake Grice was forced to intervene. Jackson not only beat one of the promotion's greatest champions, he made it look easy.
Patrick “Patchy” Mix’s claim to being the best bantamweight in the world got a lot stronger on Friday as Mix easily dispatched Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis in the second round via rear-naked choke (1:51).
Having trained together in the past, Mix was confident that he could manhandle Pettis on the ground and it showed. Using his height and reach, Mix walked Pettis down early and nearly secured a takedown along the cage before transitioning to Pettis’ back. As Pettis tried to frantically fight Mix’s arms, he didn’t notice the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist shift his body triangle past his hips up to his arm. With Pettis’ (23-6) arm trapped, the former champion had no shot at defending his neck and was quickly submitted, ending his six-fight win streak.
With the win, Mix improved to 19-1 and elevated himself from bantamweight grand prix champion to the undisputed title holder and his run to the title couldn’t have been more impressive. Mix has won six straight with incredible finishes over Magomed Magomedov, Raufeon Stots and now Sergio Pettis.
Related » Bellator 301 Round-by-Round Scoring
Archrivals Stots and Danny Sabatello were known more for their bouts in the media as opposed to their snoozer of a first fight. The two foes made up for that however with a non-stop three-round rematch that had more twists and turns than a limbo contest.
Sabatello started the fight off fast and nearly caught Stots with the same flying knee that “Patchy” Mix used to knock out Stots in the bantamweight grand prix final. Stots was ready for it as the fight quickly went to the ground.
Sabatello and Stots tirelessly battled for position on the ground and scrambled frantically, Sabatello’s fast start ultimately hurt him though. Stots came on strong in rounds two and three and clearly got the better of the striking exchanges. Despite the closeness of the fight, the scoring of the rounds was clear as Stots was awarded the unanimous decision win (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
A.J. McKee spent most of his lightweight showdown against Sidney Outlaw on his back and it still didn’t matter. McKee calmly handled Outlaw’s top pressure and sliced up “Da Gun” with sneaky elbows off his back, outworking him en route to a unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
McKee would’ve preferred to keep the fight standing but Outlaw’s takedowns were too much to stop. After spending most of the first round trying to get back to his feet, McKee changed his approach in the second round.
Instead of wasting his energy fighting Outlaw’s top pressure, McKee focused on inflicting as much damage as possible. The former featherweight champion busted Outlaw’s face open with elbows and had the 31-year-old leaking across the cage. Outlaw was relentless in staying on top but showed little urgency with the position. Despite having the advantage in ground control, Outlaw’s face looked like it had been carved by a butcher.
Alexandr Shabliy cruised his way into the lightweight grand prix finals after putting on a striking clinic against former lightweight champion Patricky “Pitbull” Freire. Shabliy (24-3) was in control the entire night and showed from the jump that he was the sharper, quicker fighter.
At 37, Freire’s explosiveness wasn’t where it needed to be to slow down the light-footed Shabliy. Shabliy, who’s won nine straight, fought from the outside and beat Freire to the punch constantly but didn’t press the former champion for a finish.
Freire (25-12) finished Roberto Satoshi de Souza in his last fight and still carries devastating power but seems to lack the speed to land it on a fighter like Shabliy at this point in his career. Freire loaded up on his shots and grew frustrated as Shabily busted him open with crisp shots. In all, it was a clinic for “Peresvet” who won by a clean sweep on all three cards (50-45).
Archie Colgan improved to 9-0 after wrestling his way to a unanimous decision win over Pieter Buist in the closing fight of the Bellator 301 prelims (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Colgan was in control from the onset but couldn’t find the finish despite having immense top pressure. The fight disappointed restless Chicago fans but Colgan couldn’t be upset with his performance. He took zero damage and kept his No. 10 lightweight ranking intact.
After losing back-to-back fights in 2022, Denise Kielholtz responded to her skid with a win over Paula Cristina dos Santos Silva in May and a victory over previously undefeated Sumiko Inaba on Friday.
Over three competitive rounds, Kielholtz showcased her experience in exchanges and carried a noticeable advantage in power. Inaba continued to come forward but Kielholtz’s kickboxing background gave “Miss Dynamite” the edge. Despite both fighters claiming victory, all three judges scored the fight a sweep (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Bellator’s No. 6-ranked lightweight Timur Khizriev lived up to his sterling record (14-0) with a commanding unanimous decision win over Justin Gonzalez (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Gonzalez showed up ready to fight but had no answers in place for Khizriev as he toyed with the American. Khizriev beat Gonzalez to the punch consistently while mixing in well-timed level changes that kept Gonzalez a step behind. As dominant as the performance was, however, Khizriev didn’t put Gonzalez in danger and cruised to his third straight decision win.
Keri Melendez did everything but make weight for her showdown with Sabriye Sengul. That was the only area where the 39-year-old prospect fell short, however. Melendez cruised past Sengul en route to a second-round guillotine (2:06) to win her first fight in three years.
Matheus Mattos handed Richard Palencia his second loss of his career by RNC in the second round of their bantamweight battle. Mattos (14-2-1) started the fight heavy on his feet looking for his second straight knockout but couldn’t land clean.
Mattos abandoned looking for the knockout after he was dropped by Palencia (10-2) midway through the second round. As the two went to the ground Palencia made a critical mistake when he walked the cage to escape but gave up his back in the process. Mattos jumped on the opportunity and sunk in the rear-naked choke while Palencia was rising to his feet.
Ramazan Kuramagomedov improved to 12-0 after putting a one-sided beatdown on Randall Wallace in welterweight action. Kurmagomedov destroyed Jaleel Willis in one round in his Bellator debut and nearly ended Wallace’s night in the opening stanza. Wallace survived to the second round before falling victim to a rear naked choke (3:49).
Islam Mamedov bounced back from his loss to S. Outlaw in August by snapping Killys Mota’s three-fight win streak by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Mamedov and Mota struggled to find an edge throughout the fight as both fighters locked into a stalemate on the ground. Mamedov’s (23-3-1) tempo led the fight heading into the final round however and the American Kickboxing Academy prospect found some success in half guard. Despite landing little to no damage, Mamedov was able to sway the judges by being busier in a fight that couldn’t end fast enough.
American Top Team product Cody Law grounded, pounded and obliterated Jefferson Pontes’ previously undefeated record throughout their featherweight clash. Law (8-2) took Pontes out of his depth early with a clear advantage in hand speed but followed up his striking with dominant wrestling along the cage.
After outclassing Pontes on the feet, Law closed out the fight with a pair of knockdowns and enough ground-and-pound to garner a 10-8, although all three judges scored the fight 30-27 in favor of the American.
Tim Wilde’s one of Bellator’s toughest lightweights but stoppage wins haven’t come easy for “The Experiment.” Wilde hadn’t finished an opponent since 2018 and as he headed into the final round against Mike Hamel it didn’t look like it was going to change.
The thing about experiments is sometimes you get an unexpected result. Hamel certainly didn’t expect to get knocked out cold 2:47 into the third round. Wilde set up the knockout with a roundhouse that cracked Hamel on the chin. Badly staggered, Hamel stumbled around the cage before he was flattened by a long right hand. Wilde (17-4-1) threw his hands in the air triumphantly before following up with a left hook that forced referee Rob Madrigal to save the day. With the win, Wilde picked up his third straight victory.
Yves Landu is aging like a Michelin-star steak. The 37-year-old French featherweight opened the preliminary card with an impressive unanimous decision win over Isao Kobayashi (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Landu (20-9) might’ve swept Kobayashi on the cards, but the fight was tougher than he expected. After dropping and cutting Kobayashi with a flush head kick in round two, Landu was shocked to be pinned on his back for the remainder of the round. Heading into the final stanza potentially tied on the scorecards, Landu left zero doubt after nearly ripping Kobayashi’s arm off with a gnarly hammerlock submission attempt. Kobayashi survived till the bell but the decision was clear.
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