Bellator’s final bantamweight titleholder requested release for months
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Patchy Mix was on top of the world, proverbially speaking, for a good while, but a large part of the past year no doubt has been frustrating.
Mix (20-1) won Bellator’s bantamweight grand prix, $1 million and the interim title – in Honolulu, to boot – two years ago. Later that year, he became full bantamweight champ in what amounted to Bellator’s final event when he submitted Sergio Pettis.
After the PFL bought Bellator, the vast majority of Bellator fighters got caught in limbo. Mix, as bantamweight champion, fought Magomed Magomedov a year ago in Paris to defend his Bellator title, but has been vocal in recent months that he’s effectively been shelved by the PFL, which shuttered Bellator as a promotion and essentially bought it to kill it.
The 31-year-old Mix has been asking for his release, and Tuesday the PFL announced he finally had been granted it.
“Professional Fighters League and Patchy Mix have mutually agreed to not extend his contract. We wish Patchy Mix all the best in his future,” the promotion posted on social media.
Several hours after the news broke, Mix released a statement of his own on social media.
Mix started to speak up in late 2024 when it became apparent the PFL was not going to book him. He was supposed to fight in November, but two weeks prior to the event, the PFL canceled the entire show. In February, he told MMA Junkie Radio he was being wasted.
“I have to voice it because I’m in the prime of my career, and not only because I’m in the prime of my career, but because I’m the best bantamweight in the world,” Mix said. “(My record is) 20-1 and 15 finishes, and I’ve been shelved. I’ve had one fight in the last 14 months. I do very well with activity, my whole career. This is the longest layoff of my career.
“I’ve had two fights canceled without being compensated. I’ve spent thousands and thousands of dollars to bring my cornermen and coaches out for those fights. First November in Paris, and then January in Dubai.”
The most likely destination for Mix, like other Bellator fighters who have been able to free themselves from PFL’s contracts after the merger, including Patricio Freire and Aaron Pico, is the UFC. Freire fell short in his UFC debut in Miami in April. Pico is expected to fight unbeaten Movsar Evloev in his promotional debut later this year.
The UFC’s bantamweight title currently is held by Merab Dvalishvili, who will defend it in a rematch with ex-champ Sean O’Malley. The addition of Mix into the division would add more championship flair to the roster.