This past Saturday night in the headliner of Bellator 295, we saw the conclusion of the Bantamweight Grand Prix. In the most stacked GP that the promotion has put together, Raufeon Stots (19-2) and Patchy Mix (18-1) battled for the interim title, the GP title, and $1 million.
Entering this bout, I was very curious to see how things would go on the feet. Patchy Mix has unbelievable skills on the ground and we know that Stots has tremendous wrestling. Personally, I figured we’d see that cancel each other out meaning we’d see a striking battle.
After watching the two men over the past few years, I just thought Stots had the advantage on the feet. I figured that while the fight was standing, he had the advantage and I picked him to win the fight. Boy, was I wrong about that one.
Just over one minute into the fight, Patchy Mix perfectly threw a knee up the middle. The knee smashed into the chin of Stots and sent him to the canvas out cold. It was a stunning end to one of the most impressive runs anyone has ever gone on in Bellator.
Bellator 295 Aftermath
Patchy Mix showed just how special he is on Saturday night. His run in this tournament has just been incredible. First, he dominated former champ Kyoji Horiguchi and won by decision. Then, he dominated and submitted Magomed Magomedov in the semifinals.
All before knocking Stots out cold with a knee to the chin. This pushed Mix to a five-fight winning streak and in that stretch, only a single fight has gone the distance. Mix has proved he’s not just the best in Bellator, but he has an argument as the best bantamweight in the world.
Mix lost back in 2020 to Juan Archuleta in his first title attempt. Mix dominated the first part of the fight, but gassed out and lost a decision. A true learning experience and now, he looks better than ever. Sergio Pettis is still the official champion and he will defend against Patricio Pitbull in June.
It’s crazy to think that Pettis seems like an afterthought right now and that sounds very disrespectful. The champ is a big underdog against Patricio Pitbull and my assumption is that he would be a massive underdog against Patchy Mix as well.
To me, we appear to be on a collision course to a Bellator super fight unifying the bantamweight title. The fight still has to happen, but I think by the end of the year, we are going to see Patchy Mix battle Patricio Pitbull and that’s going to be something to behold.