Bellator 289 to Feature Bantamweight Grand Prix Semifinals on Dec. 9

The semifinals of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix have a date and venue.

Promotion officials announced Monday that Bellator 289 will be topped a pair of 135-pound pairings from the bracket, as interim champ Raufeon Stots meets Danny Sabatello, while Patricky Mix takes on Magomed Magomedov. Bellator 289 takes place on Dec. 9 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and airs on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

A two-time NCAA Division II wrestler from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Stots is 6-0 in Bellator competition. He claimed interim 135-pound gold with a third-round KO of Juan Archuleta in the opening round of the grand prix at Bellator 279.

Sabatello, who wrestled at Purdue University, is 3-0 under the Bellator banner and 13-1 as a professional overall. The former Titan FC title holder punched his ticket to the bantamweight semifinals with a five-round verdict over Leandro Higo at Bellator 282 on June 24.

Mix has lost just once in 17 professional outings — a five-round decision defeat in a bantamweight title bout against Archuleta in September 2020. “Patchy” has since rebounded with three straight victories, including a unanimous verdict against Kyoji Horiguchi in the tourney quarterfinals at Bellator 279.

Magomedov notably defeated ex-UFC champ Petr Yan under the Absolute Championship Berkut banner and is 19-2 as a professional overall. The Russian known as “Tiger” advanced to the grand prix semifinals with a fourth-round submission of Enrique Barzola at Bellator 282.

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