HONOLULU – If you counted out Patchy Mix’s grappling before Bellator 279, you made a mistake.
At Bellator 279, Mix (16-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) largely dominated former RIZIN and Bellator bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi (29-5 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) en route to a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47).
Mix took advantage of the backpack position, which he frequently moved to over the course of five rounds and stayed comfortably. Horiguchi was able to reverse on occasion and use his sweeps, but not often enough. In order to maintain the dominance, Mix utilized short relentless punches and submission attempts.
With the victory, Mix becomes the first fighter to advance to the Bellator bantamweight grand prix semifinal. He extends his winning streak to four, which also includes James Gallagher. The only defeat of his professional career came in a title challenge against Juan Archuleta.
Horiguchi has lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his professional career. In December, he was knocked out by Sergio Pettis bt spinning backfist, a finish that earned Pettis many Knockout of the Year honors.
Bellator 279 took place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center with the main card airing on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.
The up-to-the-minute Bellator 279 results include:
- Patchy Mix def. Kyoji Horiguchi via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47)
- Yancy Medeiros def. Emmanuel Sanchez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Goiti Yamauchi def. Levan Chokheli via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:49
- Bobby King def. Keoni Diggs via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Dayana Silva def. Janay Harding via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Justin Gonzales def. Kai Kamaka via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
- Lance Gibson Jr. def. Nainoa Dung via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-25)
