Patrick
Mix doesn’t gameplan for opponents. He adjusts and then
annihilates them. From flying knees to rear-naked chokes, there’s
no technique the Bellator
MMA bantamweight champion won’t use to finish a fight. Just ask
Magomed
Magomedov.
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“I have to give him props,” Magomedov said on the
Bellator Champions Series Paris media call Thursday. In the
first fight, he surprised me. He used his distance to his benefit.
This time, I’m approaching the fight differently, and people should
expect a war.”
Mix (19-1) hasn’t seen a tough fight since his lone loss nearly
four years ago. After submitting Magomedov in 2022, Mix spent the
following year starching Raufeon
Stots and Sergio
Pettis. Today he rules the division with a fearsome fist but
wants to prove he’s the best 135-pounder in the world — even if he
has to take out former opponents to do it.
“It’s not just me; it’s also the people that I’m fighting,” Mix
said. “This guy’s 20-3 with 14 finishes. He’s got a win over
Petr
Yan and was an ACB champion. I’ve already fought him once, as
well as Stots, Pettis and the other top names. I think I’m getting
the respect I deserve because I’m finishing these guys.”
“I don’t really look at any of my fights with a gameplan,” Mix
added. “I just adjust on the fly. I’m confident in my abilities
anywhere … Most of my opponents try to just survive but as for
[Magomedov,] he mostly goes for the finish. He’s a hunter himself.
I think his style is different than all the opponents.”
Magomedov may be underdog heading into the May 17 rematch, but the
Moscow native isn’t afraid to go out on his shield. In the first
fight, he was frustrated and controlled by Mix’s reach on the
outside and got reckless chasing a takedown. He woke up to his
first submission loss soon after.
Despite the setback, Magomedov earned another crack at Mix with a
masterful performance eight months later. Magomedov took Danny
Sabatello’s breath away with a guillotine of his own and put
himself back into the title picture. But has he improved enough to
take down the champ?
“It’s been a year and a half since we’ve seen each other and I hope
we both grew as fighters,” Magomedov said. „My tank is full. We can
do five rounds, 10 rounds, you name it. We have unfinished
business, and this time, I’m going to be the one coming forward.“