UFC releases former Bellator champ Patchy Mix after 2 fights

Former Bellator MMA champion Patchy Mix’s long-awaited chance in the UFC is over, less than one year after he made his promotional debut.

The UFC has released Mix (20-3) from his contract, and the 32-year-old has already signed up to face Kyoma Akimoto (11-1) on March 6 at RIZIN 52 in Japan.

Mix, who won the Bellator title in 2023, made his highly anticipated UFC debut in June but went 0-2 against Mario Bautista and Jakub Wiklacz, resulting in his release. A longtime bantamweight, his next appearance will take place at featherweight.

“After my last fight, I waited about five to six weeks, and then [my management] told me I was going to be released,” Mix said at a RIZIN media event. “I started searching and thinking about what I wanted to do with my career. The main thing was to go up to featherweight and rebrand. I want to show Patchy 2.0. I haven’t had fun in a long time because I’ve been cutting so much weight.”

Mix holds wins over several notable names outside of the UFC, including Sergio Pettis, Magomed Magomedov and Kyoji Horiguchi. Mix and his fiancée, UFC strawweight contender Tatiana Suarez, fight out of Las Vegas.