Bellator 301 recently concluded at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The main card was opened by a Lightweight Grand Prix semi-final between Alexandr Shabliy and Patricky Pitbull. The Russian Shabliy dominated the bout and won each of the five rounds 10-9. He won the bout via a unanimous decision as all the judges voted in favor of him 50-45.
However, with Lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov suspended, the conclusion of this Grand Prix is shrouded in doubt.
What a beating
Alexander Shabliy beats Patricky Pitbull by UD (50-45 x 3)
Shabliy completely outclassed patricky with his footwork and accuracy, seemingly never out of position and always landing #Bellator301 pic.twitter.com/QKJFVBTOkw— Fight Global (@FightGlobalMMA) November 18, 2023
In another Lightweight bout on the evening, AJ McKee faced Sidney Outlaw. McKee recently moved up to Lightweight. He is a former Featherweight champion. Their bout was an extremely bloody affair. Outlaw scored takedowns, however, did not offer much offense. McKee, on the other hand, stayed active off his back and inflicted massive damage by cutting open Outlaw’s head. McKee won the bout via a unanimous decision (30-27).
Raufeon Stots faced Danny Sabatello in a Bantamweight bout next. This was their second fight and Stots went 2-0 as he won it via a unanimous decision.
In the first title match, former interim Bantamweight champion Patchy Mix defeated former champion Sergio Pettis. Mix earned extraordinary praise from many around the MMA world for his dominating performance. He won the fight via submission in the second round to earn the undisputed Bantamweight title.
JASON JACKSON KNOCKS OUT THE UNDEFEATED AMOSOV #Bellator301 pic.twitter.com/HGJSOn8WCy
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) November 18, 2023
In the main event, Yaroslav Amosov faced defeat for the first time in 28 matches in his MMA career after Jason Jackson knocked him out in the third round. Jackson’s strong right hand was too much for Amosov as the Bellator on Showtime era came to an end.
AJ McKee was not interviewed inside the cage after his bloody affair against Sidney Outlaw at Bellator 301
American fighter McKee is one of the biggest names in the promotion. He has been at Bellator throughout his pro-MMA career. He made his debut in 2015 at Bellator 136 and won the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix in 2021 to become the champion. At the time, McKee held an 18-0 record. However, he lost his title in his next bout against Patricio Pitbull.
AJ McKee, one of the greatest fighters Bellator has ever produced, not getting the mic after a win on this final show of the Viacom era is super … pic.twitter.com/eWhs4xIz3l
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 18, 2023
McKee moved up to Lightweight after his first loss. After his win against Outlaw, McKee is now 3-0 at Lightweight. However, even after the name he has made in the promotion, McKee was denied a post-match in-cage interview. Many netizens talked about it on social media as they were surprised to see him not get an interview.
McKee, on the other hand, did not think too much of it. During his post-fight press conference, he did not mention anything about it. Moreover, with Bellator’s future in doubt, he claimed Bellator would always be his home.