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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Nolan King

Bellator 279 results: Raufeon Stots knocks out Juan Archuleta with head kick and punches to win interim title

HONOLULU – Raufeon Stots has another one for the highlight reel – and a gold belt, too.

In the Bellator 279 co-main event, Stots (18-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) defeated former champion Juan Archuleta (25-4 MMA, 7-3 BMMA) by knockout 16 seconds into Round 3 to win the interim bantamweight title and move on in the promotion’s grand prix. The event took place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center.

Up until the final exchange, the fight was a relatively grapple-heavy affair. Archuleta scored a takedown early before Stots got one of his own. The second round was mostly striking, topped off by some cage control by Archuleta to close out the frame.

In the third round, Stots erased all meaning of the opening two when he threw a high kick that cracked Archuleta across the skull. The shot clipped and floored Archuleta, who was unable to recover as he was met with brutal follow-up punches.

With the win, Stots also advances to the semifinals of the tournament where he will face the winner of the Bellator 282 matchup between Leandro Higo and Danny Sabatello scheduled for June 24.

The interim title was implemented after undisputed titleholder Sergio Pettis suffered a knee injury in training that knocked him out of the tournament.

The up-to-the-minute Bellator 279 results include:

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