Kamaru Usman explains what went wrong for Patchy Mix in UFC debut |

13/06/2025 17:00 -

Kamaru Usman knows why Patchy Mix fell so flat in his first UFC fight.

Mix, a former Bellator bantamweight champion, entered UFC 316 with a 20-1 record and plenty of hype after parting ways with PFL this past May. However, his octagon debut turned into a disaster as he was badly out-struck by top contender Mario Bautista en route to a lopsided decision loss.

On Sunday, Mix released a statement commenting on his disappointing performance, mentioning that he took the fight on three weeks' notice as a replacement for Marlon Vera.

Usman has his own theory as to what went wrong for Mix and the short preparation time could have been a factor.

"Honestly, I think Patchy Mix cut too much weight," Usman said 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. Right hook. That was it. Head movement wasn't there. And it was a right hook. Right counter hook. Right counter hook. Sometimes like an almost jab hook, counter hook, that was the shot that was coming the whole time. 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.

"Patchy Mix has all the skills, has a lot of skills, and I think he definitely can be at the top of this division, but I think we need to think about what that weight cut is like because it looked bad and I think it was that weight cut."

Prior to joining the UFC, Mix built a reputation as the best bantamweight not signed to the promotion. He holds wins over Kyoji Horiguchi, Sergio Pettis, Raufeon Stots, and Magomed Magomedov, though his second win over Magomedov ended in a narrow split nod for the then-champion.

As impressive as Mix was during his Bellator run, his past two outings have now cast a shadow over his UFC contender credentials.

"I've known Patchy Mix for a long time since before he started making waves in Bellator," Usman said. "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.

"But I do think Patchy Mix is very, very skilled, and I can't wait to see how he rebounds from this."

Usman also made sure to praise Bautista, who has now won eight straight fights in one of MMA's most competitive divisions. Bautista drew plenty of negative reviews for a recent win over fan favorite Jose Aldo after he used a grappling-heavy attack to pin Aldo to the fence for the majority of their contest, but he was indisputably dominant against Mix.

With Mix having plenty of championship buzz before Saturday, Usman doesn't see why that shouldn't transfer over to Bautista now.

"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."