It didn’t take long for the UFC to sign one of the best bantamweights in the world who just hit the free agent market. Earlier this week, the PFL announced that they had mutually split with Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix (20-1).
Mix had only fought once since the PFL’s Bellator acquisition and has been incredibly vocal about his frustrations having been shelved by the promotion. As soon as he was free, he signed with the UFC and his debut is going down in just a few weeks. On tonight’s broadcast, it was announced that Mix will take on Mario Bautista (15-2) at UFC 316.
Starting with Bautista, he was originally supposed to fight Chito Vera in a few weeks. However, when Vera had to pull out of the fight due to injury, Mix was ready to jump right in. In some ways, this is a much bigger fight for Mario Bautista. While he’s won seven in a row, many have a bad taste in their mouths after his Jose Aldo win. If he can look spectacular while spoiling the UFC debut of Patchy Mix, he’ll vault into title contention.
However, that’s easier said than done. For years I’ve said that I thought that Patchy Mix was one of the very best bantamweights in the world and now he gets his chance to prove it. In his career, his lone loss came against Juan Archuleta in a fight he looked great in early but faded with his cardio in the championship rounds. Mix is a massive addition to the loaded bantamweight roster and he’s won seven in a row including finishes over Sergio Pettis and Raufeon Stots.