Ex-MMA Champ Brutally Stopped by 19-Year-Old Phenom After Surprising UFC Exit

Patchy Mix is unfortunately still on the hunt for his first victory since the former bantamweight titleholder moved on from Bellator.

Long regarded as one of the top fighters competing outside of the UFC, Mix made the jump to the Octagon last year after the PFL released him from his pre-existing Bellator contract but went 0-2 with the UFC before signing with top Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN FF earlier this year.

“No Love” was quickly booked to face 19-year-old Kyoma Akimoto in the headlining bout for RIZIN 52, which took place at the Ariake Arena in Koto, Tokyo, Japan.

Patchy Mix Stopped At RIZIN 52 After Leaving UFC

Contested at 145 lbs. rather than Mix’s usual bantamweight division, the RIZIN FF main event saw Akimoto come into the night riding a four-fight win streak that included three-straight finishes.

The Japanese star managed to get Mix backed up on the ropes during the waning seconds of the opening round and initially dropped him with a brutal combo before “No Love” jumped back to his feet and ended up shooting for a takedown. Pressing his advantage, Akimoto dropped Mix again and then took full advantage of RIZIN’s unique ruleset to land some nasty soccer kicks and knees before the former Bellator titleholder was saved by the bell.

🎬試合ハイライト💥#RIZIN52 有明大会🏙️

⚔️第12試合⚔️メインイベント
RIZIN MMAルール 66.0kg

🟥#秋元強真/@Kyoma_mma🇯🇵
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🟦#パッチーミックス/@TeamMixMMA🇺🇸

⏰3/12(木)までPPVアーカイブ配信！https://t.co/ebDJqJY8yt https://t.co/yp70WPsGGr pic.twitter.com/K1lAPTHBGa
— RIZIN FF OFFICIAL (@rizin_PR) March 7, 2026

“The Hunter” gave Mix no room to rest once the next round started, and Akimoto finally ended things with some more soccer kicks just 37 seconds into the second frame.

The win was easily the biggest of Akimoto’s still-young MMA career, although the 19-year-old has already managed to accumulate 13 fights of professional MMA experience since a 2022 debut that followed a brief amateur career where he stopped both opponents he faced.

Kyoma Akimoto celebrates after defeating Patchy Mix at RIZIN 52. | (RIZIN FF)

The RIZIN star is unbeaten outside of a unanimous decision loss to Japanese veteran Yuki Motoya at RIZIN 49, and nine out of Akimoto’s 12 professional victories have all come via stoppage.

As impressive as the result was for Akimoto, the RIZIN 52 main event unfortunately marked Mix’s third-straight loss since leaving Bellator. “No Love” exited the promotion on a seven-fight win streak capped off by a successful bantamweight title defense against Magomed Magomedov, but he went on to drop decisions to Mario Bautista and Jakub Wiklaz during his brief UFC run before falling against Akimoto in Tokyo.

Mario Bautista (red gloves) fights Patchy Mix (blue gloves) during UFC 316 at Prudential Center. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Akimoto’s second-round finish capped off a violent night of action at RIZIN 52, as the 12-fight card featured a total of ten finishes and saw seven of those bouts end via KO/TKO.