'Patchy' Mix Seeks 'Notoriety' in UFC Debut: 'I’m Coming to Show the World Who I Am'

"Patchy" Mix didn’t take long to find a new home.

Within days after Professional Fighters League confirmed that it had granted Mix his release, the former Bellator MMA bantamweight champ was seated cageside for UFC Vegas 106 on Saturday. That was followed by the announcement that Mix would be stepping in for Marlon Vera on short notice against Mario Bautista at UFC 316.

"You get the call and you answer it," Mix said at the UFC Vegas 106 post-fight press conference. "I'm not afraid of anyone in this division, especially Mario Bautista. He's on a seven-fight win streak, and I want that seven-fight win streak. When they called me, I answered it. I'll make weight and I'll get the job done. It didn't matter who. I didn't mind if he was ranked No. 1 or No. 50. I would've gone against the best, the hardest, the guy they didn't want anyone to fight. It didn't matter. It happened to be him and I think 'Chito' Vera popped his rib or something. They called me within an hour or two. I was like, 'Hell yeah.' Within a day, I think it was getting made.”

Mix was one of a number disgruntled Bellator fighters who grew frustrated with inactivity after PFL took over the organization. UFC 316 will mark his first cage appearance since he defended his Bellator crown in a rematch against Magomed Magomedov in May 2024.

"It sounds [like I’m] just where I belong," Mix said. "So many years. So many fights as a matter of fact. To finally be here is surreal. But it's where I belong. ... I had to have patience. A lot of frustration, just not knowing. Obviously, I was going to fight Leandro Higo last year. Everyone knew what I'd do to Leandro Higo. I just wanted to earn some money and stuff and stay active and keep getting better, keep growing. When that fight got pulled, I didn't know when I'd fight.”

Now, Mix will get the chance to combat the perception that fighters who have enjoyed success outside the UFC have done so against inferior competition.

"For them to say I wasn't elite and stuff, it was almost comical to me because of how much work I was doing and how many people I submit on a daily basis," Mix said. "Now that I'm here, I get a chance to prove it, and in three weeks, I plan to run him [Bautista] over. I plan to put him away. I know guys have finished him before, but I plan on putting him away and prove that I'm different than everyone else in this division, and I'm different than all these top-ranked guys.”

Mix’s credentials speak for themselves, and it should come as no surprise that the 31-year-old has high expectations for himself as he embarks on his Octagon journey.

"I'm already a multi-time world champion. I’m 20-1 with 16 finishes. I got more finishes and a better record than every single guy ranked right now,” he said. “I'm already a multi-time world champion that's beaten the who's who in MMA. So, I plan to win this fight, and I expect to be at the top of the division. Whether it's a title fight next, I don't know, but I don't mind what it is as long as it's a step up.”

While Mix wants to make his way to the top of the UFC’s bantamweight division, this move is about more than championship hardware.

"I have money. I have belts. I have all this stuff,” Mix said. “But I don't have notoriety and that's what I'm coming for June 7. I'm coming to show the world who I am.”