Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman offered his perspective on why highly-touted bantamweight Patchy Mix didn`t perform to expectations in his promotional debut.
Mix, who previously held the Bellator bantamweight title, arrived in the UFC for UFC 316 with an impressive 20-1 record and significant buzz following his departure from PFL. However, his first appearance in the octagon was a stark contrast to his prior success, resulting in a clear decision loss to ranked contender Mario Bautista, who significantly outstruck him.
Following the fight, Mix issued a statement attributing his performance in part to taking the bout on relatively short notice, stepping in three weeks before the event as a replacement for Marlon Vera.
While acknowledging the potential impact of short preparation time, Usman shared his primary theory regarding Mix`s struggles.
“Honestly, I think Patchy Mix cut too much weight,” Usman stated on his Pound 4 Pound podcast. “I think so. He looked like his body was not responding. That’s not the Patchy Mix that we’re used to seeing. Everything was flat. Patchy Mix really threw one punch, that was a hook… Head movement wasn’t there. And it was a right hook. Right counter hook… I didn’t see any combinations. I didn’t see a 1-2-3 from Patchy Mix. I rarely saw a 1-2. While Bautista mixed it up, went to the body, went to the head, kick to the body. Bautista looked amazing, but I think the story was I don’t think Patchy Mix recovered from that weight cut.”
Usman elaborated, suggesting that while Mix possesses considerable skill and has the potential to compete at the top of the division, the difficulty of his weight cut appeared evident in his performance.
Before joining the UFC roster, Patchy Mix was widely regarded as one of the top bantamweights outside the organization. His resume includes notable victories over former champions and contenders such as Kyoji Horiguchi, Sergio Pettis, Raufeon Stots, and Magomed Magomedov.
Despite his decorated past, Mix`s recent outing has raised questions about his immediate contender status in the deep UFC bantamweight division.
“I’ve known Patchy Mix for a long time since before he started making waves in Bellator,” Usman commented. “Patchy Mix is extremely talented, Patchy Mix was a champion and has the recipe to become a champion, but I think we’ve got to figure some things out here. I think that weight class, we’ve got to figure out, because if it’s going to be at this weight class then it might potentially have to be a lifestyle change because it looked like he cut too much weight to get down to this weight class and it showed in the fight. It looked bad.”
Usman concluded his thoughts on Mix by expressing anticipation for his future performance, confident in his inherent skill level.
Switching focus, Usman also praised Mario Bautista`s dominant showing. Bautista has now amassed an impressive eight consecutive victories in arguably MMA’s most competitive weight class. Despite facing criticism for a grappling-heavy approach in a recent win over veteran Jose Aldo, Bautista`s performance against Mix was undeniably commanding.
Given the pre-fight hype surrounding Mix as a potential championship contender, Usman believes Bautista`s decisive victory warrants a significant boost to his own standing.
“He’s damn good,” Usman said of Bautista. “What he did last night really showed people that he’s damn good. So we’ve got to move him up in that rankings. Why not Bautista vs. [Sean] O’Malley? With what he did last night to Patchy Mix, who had he gone out there and disposed of Bautista like was expected, first, second round, oh yeah, I think Patchy Mix makes a strong case for himself. With the résumé that he has. With the guys that he’s beat, I think he makes a strong case for himself for fighting for that title.”
