Johnny Soto and Patchy Mix discuss respective Bellator 258 wins

Bellator 258 went down on Friday, May 7th. The event emanated from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and broadcasted on Showtime.

This Bellator MMA card featured a world title change, the last quarterfinal bout of the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix, several standout performances in the men’s bantamweight division, and more.

Johnny Soto and Patchy Mix

I spoke with Johnny Soto and Patchy Mix in the Bellator 258 post-fight press conference after their respective victories.

Johnny Soto

You were pretty emphatically calling out for the 145-pound title and just obviously the McKee vs Pitbull fight coming up here, what does the road to actualizing that goal of competing for the Featherweight title look like?

“Well, you know, like I said this is still pretty early on in my career. This is a good win for me here though. And I think if I pick up another couple of these, I can’t be denied.”

Patchy Mix

On the commentary, they mentioned this was the first submission via arm-triangle choke for you. You’ve been saying this maybe isn’t like the most optimized representation of you.

But I’m just kind of wondering though, do you feel like you were able to show those new wrinkles in your game via the Jake Shields American jiu-jitsu?

“Yeah, man. Jake Shields American jiu-jitsu, he arm triangles me every frickin week. So I knew to stick with it. I knew I could feel Albert Morales kind of wincing underneath there and I could feel his breath going. But in the second round,  I would have preferred more to get the TKO, I think. At one point the ref was telling him to get up. So I really would have liked to get the TKO and win that way. But I’m just happy to get a finish.”

“Like I said, Bellator wants finishers in this division. And now, I have four finishes in Bellator with my Rizin fight combined. And I wanted to prove that I’m not just a first-round finisher, you know. I have more wrinkles to my game. People will start seeing my stand up more, people will start seeing a lot more of my game, you know. It’s just a marathon like I said. This is chess, not checkers.”

See Patchy Mix interview at top of page.

author avatar
Dylan Bowker
I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.