Magomed
Magomedov hopes to right two of the wrongs in his mixed martial
arts career before the year is through.
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That begins with a rematch against reigning bantamweight champion
Patrick
Mix in the main event of
Bellator Champions Series Paris at the Accor Arena in Paris,
France on Friday. Magomedov initially faced Mix in the semifinals
of the bantamweight grand prix at Bellator 289, falling via second
round submission in their December 2022 bout.
Mix went on to win the tournament with a first-round KO of Raufeon
Stots, and he unified the 135-pound belt with a submission of
Sergio
Pettis this past November. At this point in his career, Mix is
regarded as one of the best bantamweights in the world, regardless
of promotion.
Magomedov is willing to give Mix his due, but he knows he has a
golden opportunity to change that perception.
“Today he is one of the best in the world,” Magomedov said through
a translator during a media call on Tuesday. “Obviously my goal is
to take the throne. When the credit is due, I’ll give it to him,
but my goal is to take his position.”
Magomedov, who returned to the win column with a first-round
submission of Danny
Sabatello last July, is confident he has made significant
improvements since his first meeting with Mix.
“The whole preparation and training camp was totally different,
rather than the first one. One thing I can gaurantee is that in the
cage you’ll see another tiger, not the one you saw before with
‘Patchy’ Mix. This, I can promise,” he said.
“I think you will see a more aggressive Magomed who will push the
pace and move forward. I have tuned myself for the five-round
fight. It’s actually not going to be a fight. It’s going to be a
brawl.”
As for Mix, Magomedov isn’t so sure the former King of the Cage
champion has made significant strides in his game — though
continued success has likely helped his mindset.
“After our last fight, he made two more wins. I’m sure he’ll get
more confident,” Magomedov said. “On the mental side, he’s more
confident. Stylistically and technical-wise, I believe he’s the
same. Nothing much has changed for him.”
The stakes are higher for the Mix rematch, something that suits
Magomedov just fine.
“This is a perfect scenario for me,” he said. “With one shot I can
kill both rabbits. I can get my revenge and the Bellator
title.”
Speaking of ideal scenarios, Magomedov already has an opponent in
mind for his first championship defense should he take care of
business against Mix. Once again, revenge is the prevailing theme
for the Russian standout, whose only other defeat under the
Bellator banner came against Stots in 2021.
“Well, if everything went perfect in this fight, I would love to
have my first title defense with Raufeon…” Magomedov said. “The
same thing. I have to defend my title, but if the title defense is
going to be a fight that I can avenge my loss, that’ll be ideal.
Let’s say 2024 I’m setting the goal that it will be the ‘Year of
Revenge.’”