The best bantamweight fighter in the world may not compete in the UFC. This is because Patchy Mix is under the Bellator banner and believes that MMA fans don’t recognize him as the best Bantamweight fighter even though he has fought tougher competition than Sean O’Malley.
Patchy Mix Feels Disrespected by Fans
Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix returns to the Bellator cage on May 17th. This will be when Bellator brings its Challenger Series to Paris, France. Patchy Mix faces Magomed Magomedov in what will be Mix’s first title defense since defeating Sergio Pettis in November of 2023. During the Bellator Grand Prix in 2022, Patchy Mix defeated Magomedov due to a guillotine choke in the 2nd round.
Patchy Mix holds a record of 19-1 and is currently on the run of his career. This run includes a 6 six-fight win streak as well as clinching the Bellator Grand Prix and the Bantamweight Interim title before unifying the division. In his last outing at Bellator 301, Patchy Mix defeated Sergio Pettis who came into that fight as the champion and on a 6 fight win streak. This win unified the division as Mix had held the Interim title going into the fight and submitted Pettis in the 2nd round due to a rear naked choke. Before that, he was able to KO Raufeon Stots in under two minutes to snap his 11-fight win streak on his way to winning the Bellator Grand Prix.
Even though Patchy Mix has been able to produce some impressive performances throughout his career, he still feels disrespected. This is due to him feeling like the broader MMA audience doesn’t recognize him as one of the best Bantamweight fighters on the planet. Mix explained this to MMAMania when he said;
“It’s because of the letters in front of my name. That’s it,”
“Look at me and who they deem as the best Bantamweight in the world.”
Better Caliber of Competition Than O’Malley
Patchy Mix believes he deserves more respect as one of the best bantamweights on the planet. Mix believes his resume and the caliber of opponents he has faced throughout his career is greater than the UFC Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. Patchy Mix explained this, referencing his fight with Magomedov as similar to O’Malley’s fight with Petr Yan. Patchy Mix explains;
“Look at Sean O’Malley’s credentials next to my credentials. I fought just as tough competition. I have more finishes than him. He’s lost more rounds than me. I’m one round removed from being 31 in a row: 11-0 as an amateur, 19-1 as a pro. He barely beat that Andre Crocodile kid (Soukhamthath). He kicked him in the leg, and the guy almost had to get f—king airlifted out of the cage. So it’s like, you know, I’ve barely lost any rounds in my whole life.”
“And then you watch what little Petr Yan did to him. You look at that fight, Petr Yan and him, look how close that was. And then you look at Maga [Magomedov], and you look at him fighting Petr Yan. (Yan and Magomedov are 1-1 against each other). The only person out of the stratosphere is me. I slept Maga. Just as I would sleep Petr Yan too, I would sleep Sean O’Malley too, and so on and so forth. There’s not a guy over there that can really contest with me. I think the toughest matchup for me probably would be Merab.”
Quotes via MMAMania
There is no doubt that Patchy Mix is one of, if not the best bantamweight fighters on the planet. However, he may continue to be overlooked by fans while he keeps fighting under the Bellator banner.
Do you agree with Patchy Mix that he is the top bantamweight in the world? Do you feel like he could beat Sean O’Malley? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured Image Credit via CSUK’s Patrick Danna
