Bellator 301: Two title fights head stacked card for Chicago

Bellator has confirmed 10 bouts, including two championship fights, as the promotion heads to Chicago for a big event on Friday, November 17.

Bellator 301 will be headlined by a battle for the welterweight title, as undefeated Ukrainian champion Yaroslav Amosov bids to extend his perfect record to 28-0 with victory over No. 2 contender Jason Jackson.

Amosov, as his record suggests, has been perfect inside the Bellator cage ever since making his promotional debut back in the summer of 2018. The only interruption to his stellar career under the Bellator banner came when he returned home to his native Ukraine to defend his country from invading Russian troops.

He made a victorious return to action in February when he defeated interim champion Logan Storley at Bellator 291 to cement his grip on the 170-pound crown, and he’ll be looking for a similarly dominant performance against Jackson, who has earned his title opportunity with a superb run of form.

Jackson joined Bellator in 2019 after capturing the LFA welterweight crown, but his debut saw him edged out by Ed Ruth via split decision. Since then, “The Ass Kicking Machine” has been outstanding. Dominant performances have earned him decision victories over Kiichi Kunimoto, Jordan Mein, Benson Henderson, Neiman Gracie, Paul Daley, and Douglas Lima as he has climbed his way to the upper echelon of the welterweight rankings.

Now Jackson bids to extend his win streak to seven by becoming the first man to defeat Amosov in pro competition.

The co-main will also feature championship action, as the reigning bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis takes on interim champ Patchy Mix in a 135-pound unification bout.

After a solid run in the UFC’s flyweight division, Pettis signed with Bellator and debuted for the promotion in January 2020 with a win over Alfred Khashakyan. Since that victory, it’s been wins all the way for Pettis, who captured the bantamweight title by defeating Juan Archuleta, then scored one of the biggest knockouts in Bellator history with a stunning spinning backfist KO of Kyoji Horiguchi at Bellator 272. He then cemented his legacy with a dominant unanimous decision win over two-division champ Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 297 in June.

Now he faces another stern test of his championship credentials in the form of Mix, who has looked outstanding after bouncing back from a September 2020 loss to Archuleta at Bellator 246. That defeat – the only one of his 19-fight career, seemed to spur Mix on to greater heights, and a five-fight win streak, including four finishes, has propelled him to the top of the bantamweight division via the million-dollar Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix championship. The clash between Pettis and Mix has the ingredients to be one of the most technically enthralling matchups of 2023 so far.

Also set for action in Chicago is a Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix semi-final, as top-ranked Patricky Pitbull takes on the division’s No. 2, Alexander Shabliy for a spot in the million-dollar final. A bantamweight grudge rematch has also been confirmed, as former interim champion Raufeon Stots and Chicago’s own Danny Sabatello resume their hostilities in The Windy City.

Joining the four main-card fights on the docket are six preliminary card matchups, including two heavyweight matchups, with fifth-ranked Daniel James set to face former PFL champion Ali Isaev, while the division’s number six and number eight contenders face off, as Tyrell Fortune and Marcelo Golm do battle.

There’s a pair of pivotal matches between ranked contenders, as featherweights Timur Khizriev and Justin Gonzelez face off in a battle between No. 6 and No. 7 at 145 pounds, while in the women’s flyweight division, sixth-ranked Denise Kielholtz takes on No. 5 contender Sumiko Inaba.

Also confirmed for the preliminary card, lightweights Mike Hamel and Tim Wilde will face off, while Islam Mamedov and Killys Mota will go head-to-head in a 160-pound catchweight matchup.