Today, Bellator returned to Paris with the Champions Series and the bantamweight title was on the line. Patchy Mix (19-1) was looking to retain his title and secure his second win over challenger Magomed Magomedov (20-3). The two men had previously fought in December 2022 with Mix choking Magomedov out.
This fight was a complete 180 from the first fight. Magomedov rocked Mix in the first round on the feet and consistently got the better of the striking exchanges. Mix controlled the center of the cage but never really got going. He did get close to securing a guillotine choke in the third round, but he never did anything more significant than that.
After five rounds, I thought it was fairly clear that Magomedov was going to win a decision. The first scorecard was read 49-46 for Magomedov which is how I scored the fight. However, the other two judges scored the fight 48-47 for Mix and he retained his Bellator bantamweight title.
Bellator Co-Main Event
In the co-main event, Cedric Doumbe (6-1) took on Jaleel Willis (16-6). Willis was expected to be a good challenge for Doumbe and before the fight, Willis said he would take Doumbe down all throughout the fight. Well, he tried, but he was never able to get Doumbe down in the first round.
Instead, we got a bunch of striking exchanges and Willis never looked on steady legs. Late in the first round, Doumbe rocked Willis badly with a big overhand right. Willis went down and Doumbe never let him recover. While Willis did get back to his feet, the shots never stopped and Doumbe got the standing TKO at Bellator Paris.
After the fight was over, it appears that we got the next fight for Cedric Doumbe. Former UFC champ Anthony Pettis got into the cage and the two men agreed to a fight. Pettis wants to do the fight in Paris and you have to imagine that PFL officials will definitely make that fight happen.
Get your full results from Bellator Champions Series Paris here.