Patchy Mix eked past with a split decision against Magomed Magomedov in the main event of Bellator Champions Series 2 in Paris France. Two judges scored the fight 48-47 for Mix while the third judge had it 49-46 for Magomedov. The fight was hard to judge, particularly as Mix had Magomedov in submissions while Magomedov stunned Mix with flurries in the second and fourth rounds.
The fight was a rematch as Mix had submitted Magomedov in their first encounter. However, Magomedov was ready to escape Mix’s submissions as he did it in two rounds. First, he escaped a guillotine choke in the second round. Then, he escaped a D’arce choke in the fourth round. Magomedov was visibly upset after the announcement as he thought he had done enough to win the fight.
Is Leandro Higo next for Patchy Mix?
Brazilian Leandro Higo had weighed in as the backup for Mix versus Magomedov. Higo, a former title challenger, is on a two-fight winning streak. Mix had called out Higo after the victory and it looked like the direction the PFL would go. In his last bout at Bellator Champions Series 1, Higo defeated James Gallagher in a featherweight bout. Higo is 6-4 in PFL Bellator and was the inaugural bantamweight champion in LFA.
Mix had lost only once in professional MMA, to Juan Archuleta for the vacant Bellator bantamweight title at Bellator 246. In the five-round fight, he had won the first two fights but lost the next three. Against Higo, Mix would be a very big favorite. Nonetheless, Higo has it in him to make it an exciting fight against the champion. There are no other contenders available in the division as Mix has already quickly finished Raufeon Stots and Sergio Pettis.
Mix is now 10-1 in Bellator and is one of the best bantamweight fighters in the world. May consider him the best bantamweight right now even ahead of UFC bantamweight champion “Suga” Sean O’Malley. He has 8 finishes with the promotion, 7 via submission, and 1 via KO. With exceptional finishing prowess, it is hard to argue that Mix is not the best bantamweight in the world.
