Bellator 301 Fight Card: It’s Time for Card of the Year

Bellator will head towards the end of 2023 with a show that could go down as the fight card of the year over in Chicago. It will be the sixth time the organization has been in the Windy City, but this is nothing like they've done before in Illinois with two title fights taking the headlines. We break down the Bellator 301 fight card ahead of this exciting event.

Bellator 301 Fight Card: All You Need to Know

An event you simply cannot miss on Friday sees two title fights and two other former champions take center stage at the Wintrust Arena. The likes of A.J. McKee and Patricky Pitbull make up a ridiculously stacked Bellator fight card as a Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix semifinal concludes in Chicago.

Let's take a look at all you need to know for this Bellator 301 fight card and what not to miss this Friday night.

Bellator 301 Co-Main and Main Events

• Welterweight Title: Yaroslav Amosov (c) vs Jason Jackson
• Bantamweight Title: Sergio Pettis (c) vs Patchy Mix (ic)

One of the pound for pound best fighters on the planet headlines the main card when Yaroslav Amosov looks to defend his belt against the former LFA welterweight champion, Jason Jackson. Amosov will be putting his unbeaten 27-0 record on the line when he does so, while Jackson heads into this one having won six of his seven fights in Bellator and now sits on a six-fight win streak since his split decision loss on his debut under the Bellator banner.

Amosov has only fought once in the past two years and was fortunate not to have his belt stripped away from him after almost two years of inactivity. He won the belt off Douglas Lima with a convincing five-round decision win back in June, 2021, and the Ukrainian would then go on to beat Logan Storley for the second time in what was the first defense of his crown at welterweight back in February.

For the co-main event, the bantamweight king is back in action in hopes of defending his title for the third time in a row after an historic win over Patricio Pitbull, as Sergio Petties takes on the interim champion, Patchy Mix.

Bellator 301 Main Card

• Welterweight Title: Yaroslav Amosov (c) vs Jason Jackson
• Bantamweight Title: Sergio Pettis (c) vs Patchy Mix (ic)
• Bantamweight: Raufeon Stots vs Danny Sabatello
• Lightweight: A. J. McKee vs Sidney Outlaw
• Lightweight: Patricky Pitbull vs Alexandr Shabliy

Three current champions and two former title holders make up this sensational Bellator 301 fight card. Alongside the two title fights, we will get to see the return of former featherweight champion A.J Mckee, who makes his third appearance at lightweight since he lost his title back to Patricio Pitbull in April, 2022. The former king at 145 lbs squares off against Sidney Outlaw in a lightweight grand prix alternate bout.

Another former title holder, Patricky Pitbull, battles in a Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix semifinal bout with Alexandr Shabily, as the Brazilian looks to take one giant leap to reclaiming the title he lost almost a year to the day against Usman Nurmagomedov.

Those two mouthwatering fights kick off the main card before the two title bouts, as the bantamweight rematch between Raufeon Stots and Danny Sabatello fills the gap in between for what is likely to determine the next contender for the crown at 135 lbs. These two previously met at Bellator 289 late last year, where Stots won via a controversial split decision, but given the chaos that is going on around them at Bellator 301, it's easy to forget the importance of this fight.

The Bellator 301 fight card is about as good as it gets this Friday night, and in what is a rare occurrence, Bellator is greatly outshining the UFC this weekend.