Newark, NJ — A UFC Fight Week isn’t exactly new for UFC 316’s Patchy Mix, who has been in fiancé Tatiana Suarez’s corner numerous times in the past. Still, being in someone else’s Fight Week, and taking part in your own, is a different experience.
“I kind of see it from afar, but now doing it myself, it’s a lot different than let’s say my last couple, the Bellator fight weeks and the past, the experience that I have,” Mix (20-1) said during Wednesday’s UFC 316 media day, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press.
Mix is arriving in the UFC this Saturday, making his debut after requesting his release by the PFL. Mix has 15 finishes in his 20 wins, and was the defending Bellator MMA bantamweight champion before the promotion was absorbed by the Professional Fighters League. After months of fights falling through, he finally gets to step in the octagon on short notice opposite Mario Bautista.
“I stayed ready for a whole year. I had two fights cancelled. I ended up going to Dubai and beating up the ONE champion in grappling, just to do anything, just to stay busy,” Mix said of his struggles to stay busy across the last 12 months or so. “So it was super-exciting when we got the call, and my coaches are super-pumped and thrilled because the UFC is the biggest organization in the world. So it was the perfect timing to accept a fight, my weight had already been in check, all the boxes were checked. It happened overnight, I’m just blessed to honestly be here now.”
Coming into the world’s premier MMA promotion, Mix is already a big star, but is finally seen as having arrived. That said, his accolades speak for themselves, and he was already validated by his accomplishments.
“I won a million dollars years ago [in the Bellator bantamweight grand prix]. When I say I’m the Bellator world champion, the million dollar champion, million dollar tournament winner, I feel validated from that,” stated Mix. “But now being in the UFC, it clears like a lot for the casual fans who don’t know the layers of promotions and stuff. It is something, yes, I’d really like to check off my box. Now when I tell people about MMA, I can just tell them I’m in the number one promotion in the world, and it’s the UFC.”
Watch the full UFC 316 media day appearance by Patchy Mix above.
