‘I Would Sleep Sean O’Malley’
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The best Bantamweight mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter might not be competing in the biggest promotion in the world.
Bellator’s 135-pound champion Patchy Mix returns to action on May 17, 2024, in Paris, France, for his first Bantamweight title defense against former foe Magomed Magomedov. Mix put Magomedov to sleep at Bellator 289 in 2022.
Mix (19-1) is currently on the run of his career, demolishing everyone in his path and making it look easy. In his last outing, he snapped Sergio Pettis’ six-fight win streak and unified the Bantamweight strap by strangling him in under two rounds. Before that, he slept Raufeon Stots in under two minutes to claim the Bellator Grand Prix, snapping Stots’ 11-fight win streak in the process.
Even with his impressive performances and finishing everyone in front of him, Mix feels like he doesn’t get respect from the broader MMA audience as one of the best Bantamweights on the planet.
“It’s because of the letters in front of my name. That’s it,” Mix told MMAMania.com. “Look at me and who they deem as the best Bantamweight in the world.”
Mix believes his resume outshines UFC Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and that he’s a better fighter overall.
“Look at Sean O’Malley’s credentials next to my credentials. I fought just as tough competition. I have more finishes than him. He’s lost more rounds than me. I’m one round removed from being 31 in a row: 11-0 as an amateur, 19-1 as a pro. He barely beat that Andre Crocodile kid (Soukhamthath). He kicked him in the leg, and the guy almost had to get f—king airlifted out of the cage. So it’s like, you know, I’ve barely lost any rounds in my whole life.
And then you watch what little Petr Yan did to him. You look at that fight, Petr Yan and him, look how close that was. And then you look at Maga [Magomedov], and you look at him fighting Petr Yan. (Yan and Magomedov are 1-1 against each other). The only person out of the stratosphere is me. I slept Maga. Just as I would sleep Petr Yan too, I would sleep Sean O’Malley too, and so on and so forth. There’s not a guy over there that can really contest with me. I think the toughest matchup for me probably would be Merab.”
While Mix is engaging in a little MMA Math with Yan and Magomedov, he is the only person to finish the Dagestani fighter.
There is no doubt Mix is one of, if not the best fighter outside of UFC at the moment, but may continue to be overlooked by fans because he fights in Bellator. However, just like fighters before him, Mix will continue to make himself undeniable.
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