Patchy Mix Sparred “7 or 8 Championship Fights” With Merab Dvalishvili
Patchy Mix and Sergio Pettis pits grand prix champion versus lineal champion to determine the bantamweight king at Bellator 301.
Mix versus Pettis transpires at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois on November 17th. It serves as the co-main event on a stacked offering from Bellator MMA to close out the calendar year.
‘No Love’ is riding a five-fight winning streak after his initial bid for Bellator MMA bantamweight gold. This memorable run saw him garner the bantamweight grand prix title after besting Kyoji Horiguchi, Magomed Magomedov, and then Raufeon Stots in the tournament finals.
The former KOTC champion looks to now add a Bellator belt to his resume after having been with the company for almost four and a half years.
I spoke to Mix in the days leading up to this massive clash at 135 pounds. The excerpt from our media day interaction can be found below.
Patchy Mix
You had an Instagram post circa late September talking about the quality of work you had with Merab Dvalishvili. You described as non-stop championship fight simulation. Can you speak to the localized aspect of that and how much it benefitted you heading into this Bellator 301 fight?
“Yeah like if everyone knows Merab, he’s a madman. He pushes a cardio pace and I look at myself like that, you know. The 2023 version, I don’t stop. So every Thursday we go like five-six rounds straight you know? It’s like a simulation in the cage like a fight. We did it I think like seven or eight weeks out, seven or eight times.”
“So I sparred Merab seven or eight championship fights this fight and it’s nonstop. The guy don’t stop coming as do I. So it’s something to see, you know, you’d have to be in the gym. It’s something special on both ends. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I think that he’ll go eventually be the UFC champion as well.”
