UFC 316 debutant Patchy Mix is supremely confident entering his first Octagon experience.
Former Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix became the latest top free agent to sign with the UFC earlier this year. Just days away from his Octagon debut, Mix is ramping up the pre-fight theatrics against his upcoming rival.
Mix and Mario Bautista will clash in a highly-anticipated UFC 316 main card bout this Saturday in Newark. Mix’s addition to the stacked UFC bantamweight division is another intriguing element to the 135 lb title picture.
While the odds between Mix and Bautista are relatively thin entering UFC 316, Mix is taking this upcoming challenge like a tune-up fight.
Patchy Mix threatens to submit Mario Bautista’s whole team in scathing pre-fight comments
Before signing with the UFC, Mix was praised by many as arguably the greatest bantamweight in MMA, despite UFC 316 headliner Merab Dvalishvili having a greater level of competition. After Mix amassed early success with his elite grappling base, he’s turned into a well-rounded mixed martial artist, which is a nightmare for his rivals in the cage.
While Bautista enters UFC 316 on an impressive winning streak, his at-times sluggish style has irked UFC fans during his current run. Mix plans to exploit it when they meet in the Octagon this weekend.
In a recent episode of the UFC 316: Embedded series, Mix gave a scathing assessment of Bautista’s skillset while watching tape ahead of their fight.
“I will f— him up,” Mix declared.
“I’m a three-time world champion. This guy’s a journeyman fighter. I’ll submit him.
“And whoever’s teaching him Jiu-Jitsu, I’ll submit the whole crew.”
Bautista enters UFC 316 on a seven-fight win streak, including recent wins over UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo and Ricky Simon. His last submission win came against Guido Cannetti in March 2023.
Mix earned a slew of finishes during his Bellator/PFL tenure, including submissions of Magomed Magomedov and former Conor McGregor pupil James Gallagher. He hasn’t tasted defeat since a unanimous decision loss to Juan Archuleta at Bellator 246.
Patchy Mix’s debut is one of the biggest storylines of UFC 316
Mix is the latest in a slew of former Bellator/PFL standouts to make the move to the UFC Octagon. Earlier this year, former Bellator featherweight champ Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire made his UFC debut at UFC 314, albeit falling short on the judges’ scorecards against Yair Rodriguez.
But Mix’s debut is getting way more hype than Freire’s, and it’s comparable to when Kayla Harrison made her UFC debut at UFC 300 last year. Just two fights into her UFC tenure, Harrison will challenge for the women’s bantamweight title in the UFC 316 co-main event.
Dvalishvili has Mix on his radar with a win this Saturday at UFC 316. The two briefly trained together earlier this year, and are on the same page about a future showdown in the Octagon.