Nigerian-American Raufeon Stots got an impressive finish against Juan Archuleta in the first round of the Bellator Bantamweight 8-man Grand Prix on Sunday.

Stots, ranked number three in the division, rode into the fight with a nine-match win streak going into the championship bout.

The fight started with Archuleta adopting a grappling heavy gameplan, which was surprising because of Stots’ extensive background as a collegiate wrestler and one of the strongest grapplers in the division.

The second round was much the same but Stots stayed composed and scrambled well, taking advantage of the distance. 

In round three, with Archuleta’s timing figured out, Stots landed a huge knee to his head as he went for yet another takedown and finished him with some ground and pound before referee Mike Beltran stopped the fight. 

Stots was originally billed to fight his teammate and current Bellator Bantamweight World Champion Sergio Pettis. But Pettis pulled out due to injury and dropped out of the Grand Prix, paving way for Juan Archuleta to become the number 1.

With the win, Stots became the first man in MMA to knockout Juan Archuleta, a perennial top contender and one of the best fighters in the world at 135 lbs. 

He moves on to the Grand Prix semi finals where he will defend his interim title against the winner of the fight between Leandro Higo and Danny Sabatello.