It’s been just about four years since, but PFL Chicago’s Sergio Pettis and Raufeon Stots are very familiar with one another after being close friends and training together for years at Roufusport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The two bantamweights were originally slated to fight back in April of 2022 when they split up, but the fight ended up being cancelled due to a torn ACL on Pettis’s side. Since then, the two kept their distance, training far apart from one another, but the irony is the fact that the fight didn’t happen until tonight.
In round one, the two former training partners engaged in some striking on the feet for the majority of the round, where Pettis was the more effective striker, using his footwork to assist in peppering the head and body of Stots. With almost exactly a minute left, Stots landed a takedown and got into mount, where he finished the round on top.
Early in round two, Pettis attempted his signature spinning backfist, which landed well, but shortly after, the pair fell to the ground, where Stots found himself in the mount position. From there, Stots was grinding out the round versus a more so “defensive” Pettis, who made sure to stay clear of danger but wasn’t looking to advance the position much.
In the opening minute of the final round, the two swung strong and heavy on the feet. The counters from both men were very dangerous and came with lots of power. After striking for the majority of the round, Stots went for his takedowns in the final minute. It took two before he was successful, but there wasn’t much time to work with, and the bell rang before any significant advancement.
The scorecards were identical across the board, 29-28 for Pettis, who returns to the win column after a loss to Kyoji Horiguchi roughly a year ago.
Official Result: Sergio Pettis def. Raufeon Stots by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
