Bellator put on its 17th and final event of the year on Friday with Bellator 289, which took place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
Two champions defended their titles at the top of the card. In the main event, Raufeon Stots (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) edged Danny Sabatello (13-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) by split decision in their grudge match to defend interim bantamweight gold and advance to the finals of the promotion’s grand prix.
The co-headliner saw Liz Carmouche (18-7 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) earn a second consecutive win over Juliana Velasquez (12-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA), this time without controversy as she scored a second-round submission to defend women’s flyweight gold.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 289.
Event stats
Betting favorites went 3-8 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 9-8 in Bellator main events this year.
Total fight time for the 11-bout card was 2:16:16.
Raufeon Stots def. Danny Sabatello
Stots’ seven-fight Bellator winning streak at bantamweight is the longest active steak in the division.
Stots has earned five of his seven Bellator victories by decision.
Sabatello suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Liz Carmouche def. Juliana Velasquez
Carmouche’s four-fight Bellator winning streak at women’s flyweight is tied with Sumiko Inaba for the longest active streak in the division.
Carmouche improved to 7-2 since she dropped to the women’s flyweight division in December 2017.
Carmouche has earned 12 of her 18 career victories by stoppage. That includes four of her five Bellator wins.
Velasquez has suffered consecutive losses after starting her career 12-0.
Velasquez has suffered both of her career losses by stoppage.
Velasquez suffered the first submission loss of her career.
Patchy Mix def. Magomed Magomedov
Patchy Mix (17-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) has earned five of his six Bellator victories by stoppage.
Mix’s four stoppage victories in Bellator bantamweight competition are tied with Eduardo Dantas and Jaylon Bates for most in divisional history.
Mix has earned all five of his Bellator stoppage victories by submission.
Mix’s four submission victories in Bellator bantamweight competition are tied for most in divisional history.
Magomed Magomedov (19-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) suffered the first stoppage loss of his career with a submission defeat.
Dalton Rosta def. Anthony Adams
Dalton Rosta’s (8-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) six-fight Bellator winning streak at middleweight is the third-longest active steak in the division behind Johnny Eblen (eight) and Anatoly Tokov (seven).
Rosta’s eight-fight winning streak in Bellator competition is tied with Eblen for longest among active fighters in the company.
Anthony Adams (9-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) has suffered all three of his career losses by decision.
Ilara Joanne def. Denise Kielholtz
Denise Kielholtz (6-5 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) suffered three consecutive losses for the first time in her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since October 2020.
Jaleel Willis def. Kyle Crutchmer
Jaleel Willis (17-4 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) has earned 11 of his 16 career victories by decision.
Willis has earned all three of his Bellator victories by decision.
Kyle Crutchmer (9-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) has suffered both of his career losses by decision.
Cris Lencioni def. Cody Law
Cody Law (6-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 6-0.
Law has suffered both of his career losses by decision.
Kai Kamaka def. Kevin Boehm
Kai Kamaka (10-5-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) earned the first knockout victory of his career.
Kevin Boehm (9-6 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) has suffered both of his Bellator losses by stoppage
Michael Lombardo def. Mark Lemminger
Mark Lemminger’s (12-7 MMA, 2-6 BMMA) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since June 2021.
Lemminger fell to 1-5 in his past six fights dating back to August 2020.
Lemminger has suffered all six of his Bellator loses by stoppage.
