Sergio Pettis captures the Bellator bantamweight championship by defeating Juan Archuleta in the Bellator 258 main event
Just over a decade after his brother, Anthony, captured the WEC lightweight title — and nearly eight years after he won the UFC title — Sergio Pettis now also gets to say he is an MMA champion. Sergio Pettis defeated Juan Archuleta in a nearly one-sided main event of Bellator 258 to win the Bellator bantamweight championship.
Bellator 258: The counterstriking of Sergio Pettis too much for Juan Archuleta, Pettis becomes new Bellator bantamweight champion
The opening round saw Archuleta look to pressure Pettis, but Pettis’s speed seemed to be too much, showcasing good footwork and landing perfect counterpunches. Pettis himself showed pressure when pinning Archuleta against the cage and landing counter elbows and blows as Archuleta attempted a takedown.
Archuleta managed to score a takedown in the second round, but he didn’t seem to be able to do much before the fight returned to the feet. There, Pettis resumed his crisp counterstriking and quickness to avoid Archuleta’s attack, with Pettis even busting open Archuleta.
The third round was quite close, with Archuleta pushing the better pace, though Pettis continued to land his counters.
Pettis held off another Archuleta takedown attempt in the fourth round and tagged Archuleta with a pair of rights, going on to dominate the round with his punching once again.
Archuleta managed to score another takedown of Pettis in the final round and tried to bring some necessary pressure, but it wasn’t enough.
One judge gave Pettis a 50-45 sweep, while the other two scored the fight 49-46 for him to solidify his title win.