As big of a year for his career that 2022 was, for bantamweight Raufeon Stots, 2023 could be even better.
As part of Bellator’s million dollar bantamweight tournament, Stots picked up wins in his first two bouts and now finds himself on the precipice of taking the tournament title, claiming the prize money, and establishing himself as the man to beat in the company’s 135lb division.
“I feel like those wins were the start of something great,” Stots told MMAWeekly.com. “It started out in Hawaii about a year ago and I finished Juan (Archuleta), who I felt like was one of the toughest in the division for me to face, then I face somebody I didn’t really care for in (Danny) Sabatello and I was able to starch him, move on and get to the finals.
“I’m happy with my last year. I feel like it was one of the biggest years in my MMA career and now I’m excited for bigger and better.”
As good as he has been doing so far in his career, Stots feels he is far from hitting his potential’s ceiling, and will be an even more dangerous opponent every time out.
“I feel like with my experience and my skillset I’m still getting better and am adding new tools to my ever-evolving game,” said Stots. “I just feel like I’m a hard puzzle to figure out and I’m just getting harder to figure out. I’m never the same exact fighter every single fight.
“I pretty much impose whatever I want to do every fight. I just feel like it’s going to get harder and harder for these guys to figure me out. The better I get the longer I go in this game.”
This Saturday in Honolulu, Hawaii, Stots (19-1) will look to achieve his biggest victory to date when he faces Patchy Mix (17-1) in the finals of the 145-pound grand prix tournament at Bellator 295.
“I feel like this is the best bantamweight fight that I can have,” Stots said. “I feel it’s the two best guys in the division, in the tournament, are fighting in the finals. Patchy is going to be my toughest fight to date and I’m ready for it. Throughout my career I’ve taken on the toughest challenges.
“I tried to fight Patchy earlier in my career, he didn’t want that smoke, and now he has to fight me. I think what I have to do is the same thing that I’ve been doing and expose his weaknesses. I don’t feel like he’s as good as me on the feet, but I also feel like I can dictate what we do on the ground. What I got to do is be Raufeon, be me, be confident and go in there and whoop ass.”
While taking the tournament championship and the money that comes with it can be a career-defining moment for Stots, he puts all of that aside and focuses on the fight itself before thinking about what comes after the final bell has sounded.
“My mindset is that I have to be present in the moments I’m in,” said Stots. “The future is pretty uncertain unless I take care of what I need to take care of in the present.
“I have a task to do: I have to beat Patchy Mix, I have to break his will, win every round and finish Patchy, and then the rest of the stuff will come. I see the other stuff on the other side but I have to be present in the fight and win this fight and that’s what I’ll do.”
Raufeon Stots looking to ‘go in there and whoop ass’ at Bellator 295
