Patrick
Mix is feeling quite confident after submitting Magomed
Magomedov in the semifinals of Bellator MMA’s bantamweight
grand prix.
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Mix will square off against interim king Raufeon
Stots, who defeated Danny
Sabatello via split decision in the other half of the bracket,
at a Bellator event sometime in 2023.
“I’ve been telling everyone all f—-ing weekend: I’m the favorite to
win the tournament,” Mix said at Saturday’s post-fight press
conference. “You know why? You see those two guys on the other
side? I can submit them too. Sabatello puts himself in that same
position 100 times. I was already confident against him. Seeing
Magomed and Stots’ fight, and how my fight went with [Magomedov], I
feel good about that.”
Mix used a guillotine to render Magomedov unconscious 2:39 into the
second round of the 135-pound clash at
Bellator 289 on Friday. “Patchy” has earned 12 of his 17 career
triumphs by submission — including four via guillotine.
“I got a mean guillotine, and I can choke out anyone in the world
with it,” Mix said. “I saw in the [Enrique] Barzola fight that he’s
susceptible to the guillotine, but Maga’s got a great warrior
spirit, and I knew I’d have to put him out.”
Mix possesses a dangerous skill set that discourages takedowns, and
he promises that he’s still only getting better.
“They [my opponents] weren’t trying to [take me down] anyways.
That’s my 12th submission. I was seconds away from submitting
Juan
Archuleta, and I’d be 18-0,” Mix said. “If I was on level five
before, I’m on level 50 now. They don’t have to worry about what I
did tonight, they have to worry about what I’m going to do next
fight. Me and my team, we’re going to get back in the gym. We got a
big fight coming up.”
While Stots owns interim 135-pound gold, the long-term goal is a
showdown with undisputed bantamweight champion Sergio
Pettis, who is in the process of recovering from a knee
injury.
“Me and Sergio, we trained. I’ve got nothing but respect for
Sergio,” Mix said. “I wish him a good recovery. My girl had ACL
surgery, and I’ve got nothing but respect for anyone who’s going
through that injury. We can stand across from one another and meet
in the middle.”