Patchy Mix - A Career in Decline

In 2023 Patchy Mix was one of the most respected bantamweights on the entire planet. Sitting at a very respectable 18-1, he had just finished UFC veteran Sergio Pettis and unified the Bellator bantamweight championship belts.

In May 2024, he would face off against Magomed Magomedov in his final Bellator outing, defeating the Russian via split decision. That win would be a highly contested one, however, with Mix failing a drug test after the bout.

His career from this point would decline in a rapid way, and it would show that, perhaps, he was little more than a hype train and was never elite.

Patchy Mix - A Career in Decline

UFC, A Step Too Far

Patchy Mix came over to the UFC in 2025, and fans were extremely excited. He's beaten plenty of recognisable, respected names such as Pettis, Magomedov, Raufeon Stots and Kyoji Horiguchi to name a few. 'No Love' was signed at a similar time to names such as Aaron Pico, Michael Page and Patricio Pitbull, all ex-Bellator fighters who joined with a lot of hype.

His opponent on his debut showed just how highly regarded he was at the time. Debuting on the UFC 316 main card, Patchy Mix took on Mario Bautista. The latter was enjoying a seven-fight winning run and was coming off a significant win over former featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

Bautista would show Mix that there are levels to MMA and that he was far off the elite of the world's best promotion. Handing him a defeat via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, 30–27), Bautista defied the odds after heading into the bout as an underdog. It's also worth noting that Mix took the fight on short notice, but sometimes you have to roll the dice to get in the big leagues.

Patchy Mix's second UFC bout would see him matched with promotional newcomer Jakub Wiklacz, dropping down to the prelims. Again, he headed into UFC 320 as a favourite, but this time he would be on the wrong end of a split decision loss.

At 0-2 in the UFC, time was up in the world's best promotion for Mix.

New Start in Rizin

Mix would sign for Rizin and headline his first outing from the Japanese-based promotion. Taking on 20-year-old Kyoma Akimoto, Mix was fighting under a new ruleset, up a weight class at featherweight. 

His fortunes didn't get any better under the Rizin banner. He would suffer his first loss via finish and slip to 0-3 in his last three fights. He was battered in the first round, getting dropped multiple times and almost finished. The second round saw Akimoto land a fairly rudimentary 1-2, drop Mix again, and a soccer kick saw the referee step in.

Mix would get another shot in Rizin, where he would play co-main event at Rizin 54. Taking on the experienced Shoko Sato, Mix weighed in six pounds overweight. He would go on to lose the fight via unanimous decision and slip to 0-4 since 2024.

It's time for Patchy Mix to make a difficult decision. Despite only being 32, he doesn't have a bright future in the sport. If he isn't winning, taking damage and ultimately declining, it may be time to hang them up.