Former Bellator mainstay Patchy Mix finds himself headed for the UFC following a sudden opening on the company’s upcoming 316 event.
UFC 316 Takes Sudden Hit, but Patchy Mix Raises Hand to Fill In
Taking place in less than a month, UFC 316 will be headlined by a highly-anticipated rematch between current 135-lb apex Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. The show was also set to feature another entertaining bantamweight scrap between rising contender Mario Bautista and one-time title challenger Marlon Vera.
However, Vera was forced off the card due to injury, leaving a sizable hole in the first pay-per-view of the month of June. With a mere few weeks until showtime, fight fans and pundits were left to wonder who the promotion would ask to step up on such short notice to battle the MMA Lab representative.
In one of the more unexpected turns in 2025, it seems as though once Bellator Bantamweight belt holder, Patchy Mix, is gearing up to replace Vera at UFC 316 after being released from his PFL contract a few days ago. News of the apparent signing comes from X user @MagicM_MMABets.
𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Professional Fighters League and Patchy Mix have mutually agreed to not extend his contract.
We wish Patchy Mix all the best in his future pic.twitter.com/xUHSZ45we6
— PFL (@PFLMMA) May 13, 2025
Patchy Mix Reigned At the Top in Bellator
For the past two years, Patchy Mix has been widely-viewed as an elite name outside of the UFC, capturing the Bellator bantamweight interim strap in 2023, defeating the then 19-1 Raufeon Stots. Coincidentally, the setback was Stots first since suffering his first loss to current UFC 135-lb king Dvalishvili.
He then went on to unify both titles by stopping Sergio Pettis and making one successful defense of his championship over Magomed Magomedov last year. in Paris Although he looked to be on course for a long reign in the company, following his first title defense, Patchy Mix began to publicly voice his vexation for a lack of bouts being offered to him.
After more than a year on the sidelines, he exits the Bellator banner and is now reportedly set to make a major high-profile debut in the UFC this summer.
Patchy Mix will be the latest in a short line of Bellator legends making the jump to the Octagon in recent months, alongside the prospective Aaron Pico and fellow former champion Patrício Pitbull. Historically, Bellator fighters have generally tended to thrive making the transition to the UFC.
The most prominent example of this includes Michael Chandler becoming one of the most popular athletes in the entire promotion with his extensive list of performance bonuses in nearly all of his contests. Another is how Alexander Volkov, who previously captured the Bellator heavyweight belt, has risen to be counted among the most stalwart pugilists in the UFC’s 265-lb weight class.
