Patchy Mix: Avenging Mario Bautista loss ‘more important’ than title
UFC 320 fighter Patchy Mix spoke to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn ahead of his preliminary card bout vs. Jakub Wiklacz on Saturday in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – It’s not often fighters want something more than a title. And if really, truly pressed on it, maybe he’d give himself an out.
But ask Patchy Mix right now, and he’d rather have another crack at Mario Bautista and a win over him than the UFC bantamweight belt. That’s how much that unanimous decision setback stung for Mix, a former Bellator champion who made his much heralded promotional debut against Bautista at UFC 316 in June.
Mix was a 2-1 favorite in the fight. The 32-year-old Las Vegas-based Mix had been stuck in a dead-end situation with the PFL after it purchased Bellator, but he was among the most high-profile fighters to be granted his release.
He stepped in for Marlon Vera on short notice to fight Bautista for his debut, and it backfired in Newark, N.J. Bautista graduated to a fight at UFC 321 against recent title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov, and Mix (20-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) finds himself on the UFC 320 prelims against the debuting Jakub Wiklacz (16-3-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC).
That dropoff could be one of the reasons why Mix is so intent on wanting to get another crack at Bautista, title pursuits be damned.
“I have a lot of respect for Mario Bautista, and same with Umar,” Mix told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “I have no prediction on the fight, but what I do know is … (the winner) will probably get the title shot.
“If Mario Bautista does win … all I know: I am coming back for that fight with everything in my body. Whether it’s now, a year, two years, I will win until I get that fight back. I hope we meet so I can prove not just to everyone in the world, but to myself. He was able to be fully ready. When I’m able to be fully ready … I believe I can beat that kid and finish him.”
The wild thing is, though, that if it means delaying a title shot in the name of avenging the Bautista loss, it sounds like Mix is in “so be it” mode for that.
“I used to look at the title (as a goal), but now I’m looking at that redemption (against Bautista). I need that one back for myself,” Mix said.
Check out Mix’s full interview above.
