Last month, Bellator crowned a new bantamweight champion. That champion’s name is Juan Archuleta. Archuleta took on Patchy Mix on September 12th and walked away with a unanimous decision and the Bellator bantamweight title.
It was a massive moment of redemption for Archuleta who had long been after the Bellator title. When there was a state of limbo at bantamweight, Archuleta went up to featherweight to fight Patricio Pitbull to try go capture a title.
However, Pitbull turned away Archuleta. After fighting to an impressive 24-2 record, Archuleta finally got his chance at Bellator 246. Mix looked really good early on, but Archuleta remained patient. The vet had a game plan and he executed it perfectly.
Archuleta knew that Mix would tire in the championship rounds. That is exactly what happened, and Archuleta took over the fight capturing the Bellator title. Today, we learned who Archuleta’s first title defense would come against.
Archuleta made an appearance today on “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” where he announced his next plans. “Our next fight, we’re shooting for the first of the year. The the first card back (after the new year) against Sergio Pettis. That’s the fight I originally wanted for the belt,” Archuleta said.
Bellator’s next bantamweight title fight
Sergio Pettis has looked really good since making the jump from the UFC to Bellator. Since joining the Viacom promotion, Pettis has gone 3-0. His last fight he looked very good using his technical striking to defeat Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 242.
Many people believed that Pettis would get the next shot at whoever won at Bellator 246. Now, we know for sure that Pettis will be the first challenger to Archuleta’s title. This should be a fantastic matchup for Bellator to kickoff their 2021 schedule.
Pettis is going to present some interesting challenges for Archuleta. His technical striking and range control could help him win the title. However, Archuleta is a handful for anyone and it’s going to be extremely tough getting that belt away from him now.