UNCASVILLE, Conn. – When he heard Raufeon Stots announced as the winner of their Bellator bantamweight grand prix semifinal, Danny Sabatello stormed out of the cage. It wouldn’t have been a surprise if Sabatello ditched the Bellator 289 post-event news conference, but he didn’t.
He had some things to get off his chest.
“Pissed off,” Sabatello told reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage at Mohegan Sun Arena. “I think I won that fight. My team thinks I won that fight. Obviously I take full responsibility for the loss. Anytime you lose a decision, you could’ve obviously stopped the other guy and won by stoppage whether it’s by KO or submission.”
Sabatello lost a split decision to interim champ Stots (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), who will move on to the $1 million final against Patchy Mix. The fight was the culmination of a heated build-up filled with trash talk from both men. For that reason alone, the loss would sting Sabatello. Making the feeling worse was the judges’ scorecards, with two judges awarding Stots 48-47 while one scored it 50-45 in favor of Sabatello.
“I don’t know how the f*ck I lost that fight,” Sabatello said. “I think the judges f*cked this one. I don’t know how one judge has it 50-45, I won every single f*cking round, and then the guy sitting next to him has me lose a close fight. Doesn’t f*cking make sense to me.”
Unofficially, Sabatello had more than 10 minutes of mat control to Stots controlling less than a minute, which is a big reason why Sabatello believes he won. Stots, however, was the more effective striker by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. How much damage he did may be up for debate – or not, if you asked Sabatello.
“I don’t have a bump or a bruise on me,” Sabatello said. “I am perfectly fine. He never f*cking hit my face. Again, it’s very frustrating, because I think I won that fight. But again, I do take full responsibility.”
Despite the outcome, Sabatello isn’t disheartened about his future.
“Regardless of how I view what happened with the outcome of that fight, I still go back to the f*cking best gym in the world in American Top Team and go balls to the wall and train and keep striving to get that f*cking belt,” Sabatello said. “I’m young. I only started MMA about four years ago, I got in Bellator a year ago, and I already got this title shot. Obviously it’s a very bright future for me. This is just a little speed bump. I’m gonna be motivated no matter what. …
“I still think I’m the best f*cking bantamweight in the world. I still know that I f*cking won that fight. It’s become a sport where you’re just trying to trick three f*cking judges, and that’s it. Doesn’t matter how anyone else sees the fight. It’s just three f*cking people that don’t even know what they’re looking at.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.