Raufeon Stots is a mixed martial artist who competes as a Bantamweight on the Bellator MMA roster. He returns to talk about his upcoming Bellator fight where he looks to extend his five fight winning streak.
Transcript
Raufeon Stots: Are you uh, are you still back in uh back home or have you uh? No i’ve been here since uh sunday um. They had us quarantined for a day and then we got out late on tuesday or no monday, and then yeah we’ve been here since sunday. So we’ll just get started man how uh? How have you been since the last time i talked to you last time i talked to you. It was like right in the middle of pandemic, not a whole lot of activity. You were anxious. You wanted to get back into the fight, but uh, but nothing – and here you here – we are man three days out, get what you asked for it’s crazy man, it’s crazy out here, it’s crazy out here! Yeah. Now i’m like what a couple days from weigh-ins about the fight in the uh end of the week. Man, it’s life is good. How was uh, how was training been since we’ve talked um? It’S been pretty good, so we um they opened up the gym. Since we talked um and then also we’ve been doing like um a little bit before that we were doing like short or mini camps kind of so um i mean i can’t our camp is pretty small already so pretty much uh. It was like a select few of guys, but it was like you know the elite guys i mean everybody on our team is elite but um, yes, uh just a select few of us that maybe have fights coming up and um yeah. So we’ve been training hard man um. We we changed up the kind of the mindset and uh how we approached training as a team and um been doing pretty good man, so i may be speaking for myself here, but i know throughout the pandemic. I personally have put on an extra bit of pounds and i think a lot of people did uh. How was that how’s the weight cut? You know my way cut is pretty good. You know i’m doing the water cut actually for the first time um just to try it out. Um, that’s pretty good. I can’t say i really gained any weight because i was freaking training. We were training um, probably like three four hours, uh like of practices or whatever, so i wasn’t really getting too out of shape. You know and then i jumped since our gym been back. We’Ve been i’ve been training full time. You know, especially since i heard i got to fight, so how did you? How did you modify the weight cut because i know with uh with quarantine and everything i know you guys are stuck in your rooms for a little bit, so i’m sure going into the going into the week fight week. I’M sure your your procedure, i guess, would have been a little bit modified. It was a little different because we were like quarantined you talking about since i got here. Are you talking about uh yeah, since you got here since i got here, so we were like quarantined, so i pretty much turned the heat up in my room and did a workout in my room kind of shadowboxing and stuff and then um then, as we got Gotten out i’ve um, i was able to go. Uh run me and my me and my um teammate sergio pettis and uh jordan griffin we’ve been running um kind of it’s nice out and it’s it’s pretty hot out. So we’ve been doing that and tonight i think we’ll get a um, so we ran this morning um tonight. I think we’ll get a um like a grappling session in with the three of us and um yeah um, just making it work. You know um, we don’t really need a lot to train. You know we we i mean. Luckily we we carry all our equipment for fighting. You know with us. So yeah i mean it’s, it’s just different um, but you know it’s. It’S nothing majorly different. You know. Um we’re just being safer about you know, uh what we do outside of training. You know, since we are, we are together and we’re from the same camp, and we know we’re all kobe free we’re just trying to stick to staying. You know limited uh contact mentally. It’S gon na be a little bit different. You know you’re you’re, probably going into every fight you’ve kind of developed the routine like this is what i’m gon na. Do. I’M gon na go to the gym. I’M gon na sit in the hot tub this time to this time, and now it’s like well you’re, stuck in a hotel not allowed to come into contact with certain people. So it’s got to feel a little bit different and does it does it still feel like a fight, or is it hard to like really mentalize like so for me, and i don’t know if this holds true to anybody else, but my routine is that it’s always Different my roots, i’m i feel like i never get the same conditions um before i fight so my routine, i feel, like i’m, conditioned to think we just gon na go with the flow. Whatever you know, whatever is available. Whatever we have um yeah, whatever whatever’s there. We’Re gon na get the job done. You know what i mean we’re gon na make do with what we got so um. As for me, my mindset on a fight like is, is pretty normal um. You know uh as far as the weight cut. I don’t like. I’M kind of go with the flow. I don’t need a certain thing. You know, i know what i have to do and i’m gon na get it done um, but it’s always different for me. It’S always different. So i’d like to talk a little bit about uh about your opponent. Here i mean he’s he’s undefeated as a professional 5-0 um. Was it hard finding film on someone who doesn’t have a whole lot of experience when it comes to professional fights? Um? No, i feel, like all his fights have been in the um, the bellator, so i mean he’s got a decent amount of film. I mean i’ve seen what i need to see. Um, i don’t really watch. I’M not gon na sit and watch every single one of his fights anyways. I’M gon na watch, probably his last two or you know, or something like that, um just to see kind of where his head’s at whereas um technique is at um but yeah. So i mean i felt i found a good amount or i found what i needed. I feel like i needed to be confident and um approach, training um, how i need to approach it um yeah, so i i feel, like i found a good amount um of. What’S in it he’s, i know, he’s gon na be tough. I know he’s gon na come out there to fight. You know he comes to fight, so i’m excited. Do you think uh his green hair is gon na, be a distraction or do you think it’ll be blinding? Do you think it’s going to be like a target that makes it easier to come into college? I’Ve been practicing in the gym. You know i’ve been throwing dye on people, you know saying to prepare for the snowflake. Now i ain’t even think about that brother. I forgot his hair is green. You know when i see his head. I just see green, but i forgot he like died. Uh he dies it green. Now i don’t even freaking i i need to mentally focus, though so i mean uh picture that so i’m not surprised. That’S a good point. I appreciate that. So i’m not like a deer in headlights. When i see this dude with green hair, you got to get uh green pads, yeah yeah. That’S what i need exactly. Oh, i should’ve did that your teammate uh, like you said sergio perez, is also fighting on the card. What’S it like having a guy that you’re training with a good friend of yours also competing man? This is amazing man, it’s so fun to me, um being able to go through. You know we’re both cutting away together, we’re just running shadowboxing and stuff together, you know what i mean. We train all the time together so um. This was like actually like one of the like my dream scenarios or whatever to fight on a car with um sergio but um um, just like. If get coming to like fruition or whatever is uh. You know it’s pretty cool. It’S pretty awesome. Sergio is like one of my best uh, i mean he’s been my training partner throughout um, since i’ve been at roofing sport and you know probably one of my main or consistent training partners, every single camp. You know and i’ve learned so much from him. You know um, hopefully, if i’ve been part of a lot of knowledge on him, we feed off each other good. You know so i i love. I love that services here. Is the plan to get your uh hand raised and then go back and and help him prep for his fight, or is it i’m going straight to the bar? Ah, no for sure no we got i mean our mission is to leave here. Two-And-Oh. You know we we’re not. I mean i won’t be happy unless both of us come out of here with a victory, so um yeah, i’m. Definitely if i, if i can, if they’ll, let me out um, i don’t know what the quarantine situation is. Gon na be like but um, if i can, i wan na i wan na try to support him any way. I can you know what i mean yeah i mean you saw a couple weeks ago. Paul felder just dropped everything he was doing to go. Help jared gordon out is that is that your plan too, like i’m done with this, they will allow me if they would allow me i would love i’d love to do it. Man i’d love to go back and help in the corner. You know um, especially since we didn’t bring a lot of people here. I think we got um. I got. I got two corners, he got two corners, but we’re allowed uh three. So hopefully i can go back and um corner them. You know try to pull the fall, fielder paul phil, there’s a g, though that was unreal yeah you got changed and everything from a suit into into regular clothes like i was like man. How do you that’s like get you a man that can do both or something like that? It takes me an hour and a half to put on a suit right, superman he’s superman out here. That was crazy. I think this might be thinking a little bit too far ahead, but you guys are in the same division, same organization, both competing for the same prize. I mean you see it happening with gilbert burns and kamara uzman. Is that something that you guys have talked about? Like if this were to ever play out, is it something you’d be willing to do? You know we haven’t really talked about it, but it’s so i mean the only way. Something like that would happen is, if, like we’re, forced to and the only way, we’ll be forced to if it was like something like big on the line. Both of us are professional enough and we’re we’re understanding, we’re we’re not uh as pers uh. What you call it taking that take it as personal personal, we don’t take it as personal that um i i feel uh we can. You know um do that without uh uh, disrupting our friendship but um i by all means i would try not. I don’t wan na fight uh sergio. You know what i mean. I mean i i just don’t wan na he’s my friend, i don’t wan na fight him. You know in a serious fight. We train together. He’S helped me a lot. You know um yeah, that’s kind of how i feel so we haven’t really even like talked about it. The only way that would happen is, i feel like if they did like a grand prix or something and they matched or you know we we made it to a certain level. I think we talked about that once maybe um but yeah, that’s kind of where my head’s at obviously taking this fight. I mean you’re putting a lot of risk. I mean you hear about ufc fighters and bellator fighters and lfa fighters a lot of times having to pull out due to covet. I’M sure these things all went through your mind, but as a fighter who’s three days away from it are these thoughts going through your mind like what, if i get a call saying i have it or how are you trying to balance both things, so man that Covet test is almost like when i was when i was out in the streets when i was uh out here, uh messing with girls and stuff. It was almost like that when we get our uh hiv test, you know and then you’re like do i got it. Do i not got it uh? I don’t know i don’t know, but um. The kobe test is kind of like that man, because you never know you can get it every every second. So it’s kind of like i was telling jordan about it too. This is jordan. Griffin, hey: what’s up how’s it going man? How are you doing? Oh you in a whole interview, yeah, you straight um, but yeah, it’s kind of like that. It’S kind of like a um kind of like a you know that anxiety. So i feel like the anxiety is always there every time i’ve been tested with like five times now, though, so every time i feel like it gets a little more like okay, i’m good. Okay, i’m good, and especially since we got here that first test was uh. Yeah that first test was a little nerve-racking or whatever, but then um after we. We took the first test and you know – and i i stay safe – a little a little tension eases. Hopefully we make it through through uh. These weigh-ins get another test and um. Then my my anxiety will uh ease a little more. You know and then of course like when we’re in fight or when the when the uh the weight is made and we’re like a day before, maybe a uh, more anxiety. But it’s it’s always. You know, because you with this, you never know it’s not like what with the hiv you’re like okay. Well, if i was out here, you know i’m saying having sex with somebody or something you know like it could happen, but with this covid i could like touch. Somebody’S hand and put it on my face or something it’s it’s crazy or i could touch a door handle and maybe i don’t know i don’t know but yeah which test did you do the nostril or the throat? So i’ve done i’ve done the nostril one. When we got here, we did the uh throat one um. I’Ve done the throat one before i’ve also done a saliva one, where you let saliva drip out of your mouth into this little tube and then that’s the one we had to do that before we got. He took connected, i don’t know if it was a connecticut thing or a connecticut commission thing. I did the nose one and i couldn’t stand that oh man, those one sucks, the worst, the nose one is the worst for me for sure yeah. I couldn’t stand it. I was like i’m done with this and i was like i don’t even care if i have it at this point man. I don’t want to do that again. Yeah, my sister-in-law had um tests and she like bled like her her nose like bled like profusely. I have to uh, i have to ask, i mean, obviously i know who you’re rooting for in this main event, what’s your prediction, how do you think he gets it done? Man sergio is a beast man sergio i feel like gets it done by knockout. You know he’s just so technical he’s he’s been he’s like young as hell, but he’s such a veteran. You know he’s been in the game for so long and he’s he’s a like a student of the game. You know he’s um, i would say, he’s more he’s. Technically, more sound and um, you know than his brother, you know what i mean so um. I think he gets it done by knockout. Actually i yeah i’ll say not go as for you, i’m sure i know how you, as long as you get your hand raised. I’M sure that’s all that matters to you, but but what i got finish, this guy bro, i got ta go out here and uh dominate excite and finish this fight. Do you see it? How do you see it playing out? Knockout submission? I see if he goes to the ground, i’m a renegade if he stands up i’ma, probably uh i’ll, probably i’m gon na knock him out. I like it. I have one last question for you about about another teammate. You mentioned him anthony, obviously rumors talking about him and and maybe anderson silva or who knows i’m sure at this point in his career. He just wants big names as a friend and as a teammate. What do you want to see anthony in you said what fight do? I want to see me what like yeah, what what do you think is next for him? Do you think like? Maybe he should try to man? That fight would be epic man. I seen a man or i’ve seen anthony, do some pretty amazing things in the sport. If you look at his career he’s like a spectacular fighter, you know so um if he could go out there and he’s an against the odds fighter. You know what i mean um. He saw it with wonder boy right, yeah, exactly man he’s he’s a he’s that guy man he’s a g so um i mean that fight would be amazing. That fight would be amazing and i think he would he would win in spectacular fashion. Last uh, i guess a couple weeks ago, mike perry had chose to bring his girlfriend into the corner. I had to ask: is this something that you know a loved one of yours was like hey man. I want to get in there and that’s like everybody’s, like oh mike perry, did it mike perry was everybody i feel like every girlfriend in the world was probably rooting for mike perry uh because, like mike perry brought his girl, he only brought his girl. No, my my wife is, is pretty understanding and i feel like she’s uh. She is uh close enough to know that she shouldn’t uh she’s or she doesn’t want to be there. You know what i mean so uh we talked about it. We talk about how crazy it is, but we’ve we’ve also talked about like if the only way she would ever be in my corner is: if nobody else professionally could make, could make it there. You know and then and at that point she’d do what what the girl did and just you know say good job and stuff, but um she doesn’t want to be there at all. So you don’t want that responsibility and then one last question. Non-Mma related last time. We talked you were fixing your washer. Have you fixed any other appliances in your house since i did it bro i fixed the washer uh yeah, i remodeled my closet and i fixed that goddawg on washer. It was uh. It was the uh door mechanism. I had to replace and i replaced it for seven dollars, so i’m happy as hell all right man. I appreciate you taking the time best of luck. It’S like three days away, so i know i’m sure you’ve got a lot of other things going on. So i appreciate you really taking the time to talk to me: yeah no problem man, man, all the best to you and sergio all right. Thanks, bro
