Patchy Mix is full of confidence ahead of his interim bantamweight title fight against Raufeon Stots in the finals of the Bellator bantamweight Grand Prix. This version of the Grand Prix came under unique circumstances as reigning champion Sergio Pettis was forced to withdraw due to injury, so an interim title was won by Stots in the opening round and he has defended it throughout.
During an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Mix spoke about his path to the Grand Prix finals, which saw him defeat Magomed Magomedov and former champion Kyoji Horiguchi. The 29-year-old mentioned that he plans on finishing the interim champion to take the Grand Prix championship, interim bantamweight championship, and $1 million grand prize.
"I'm glad it's him [Raufeon Stots in the finals] cause you know, I want that on my record. I want a win over him on my record, I want a finish over him on my record, and next Saturday night, I'm coming to either knock his a** out or submit him." [1:10 - 1:20]
'No Love' also noted that he plans to trend on social media for the matter in which he defeats 'Supa'. He mentioned that he believes the video of his finish will surface all over social media, saying:
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"I'll be tagged all over Showtime, WorldStar, and everything else next Saturday night after I strangle this little motherf*cker, so just look out for me...hashtag my name next Saturday night...and I'll be all over the place cause I'm for a sensational moment and I'm coming for this guy's neck." [9:56 - 10:16]
It will be interesting to see whether Stots will be able to stop Mix from imposing his will with his grappling or if 'No Love' will continue his winning streak and win the Grand Prix.
Check out the full interview:
Who will the winner of Patchy Mix vs. Raufeon Stots fight next?
Typically when an interim champion is crowned, their next fight is a title unification bout with the reigning champion when they return to action, but that's not the case with Bellator's bantamweight division.
Instead, the winner of the bantamweight Grand Prix final between Patchy Mix and interim bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots will fight the winner of the bantamweight title fight between champion Sergio Pettis and featherweight champion Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire. Pettis has been out of action for over a year, so he will be in for a tough test against 'Pitbull', who will look to make history as the first three-division champion.
Stots and Mix won't have to wait too long though as the Pettis vs. Freire bout is scheduled for Bellator 297 on June 16.