Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis has been forced to withdraw from the promotion's upcoming Bantamweight World Grand Prix due to an undisclosed injury.
CBS Sports' Brent Brookhouse was the first to report the news of Pettis' injury, as well as revealing that former Bellator bantamweight champ, Juan Archuleta, will step in for Pettis and face Raufeon Stots now at Bellator 279 on April 23 for an interim title. Archuleta is 2-2 in his last four fights and is coming off of a unanimous decision loss to Pettis back at Bellator 258. Stots meanwhile is on a nine-fight winning streak currently that dates back to December 2017 and will look to build on a unanimous decision win over Magomed Magomedov at Bellator 264.
-- Ever wonder where @RaufeonStots came up with the nickname?
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) March 19, 2022
See "Supah Stots" when he challenges @SergioPettis Saturday, April 23rd for the bantamweight strap to kick off the Grand Prix!#Bellator279 pic.twitter.com/8t9DW1PB4V
Since Archuleta was already in the tournament field, there is no word yet on who will officially take Pettis' spot now in the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix. However, Josh Hill was made the alternate for the event last December after knocking out Jared Scoggins in the second round at Bellator 272. He currently is scheduled to face Enrique Barzola at Bellator 278 on April 22.
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