Patchy Mix releases statement after awful UFC debut

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Highly-touted PFL-Bellator champion Patchy Mix had a nightmare debut at UFC 316.

Mix was signed to replace Marlon Vera against No. 10-ranked bantamweight Mario Bautista on the night's main card, and any hardcore fans would tell you they had high hopes for the then-20-1 submission ace.

Instead of a breakout performance, Mix engaged in a tepid striking affair with Bautista, who landed at will as Mix flatfootedly refused to move his head or offer any meaningful engagement. As such, he lost a lopsided unanimous decision.

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'I don't hang my head' ... Patchy Mix responds to critics after nightmare debut at UFC 316

Taking to his Instagram story after the loss, Mix refused to dwell on the result.

"[I] took the fight on three weeks' notice against a guy who's on an eight-fight win streak in the UFC," Mix wrote in a story. "I don't hang my head. I'm proud to represent where I am from, Angola/Buffalo NY.

"Most of you men that think you could give an honest assessment could never relate... Especially these wrestlers."

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For plenty of fans, it's less about Mix losing and more the fact that another ex-Bellator champion has lost inside the Octagon to lower-ranked opposition. Unlike Patricio Pitbull and Michael Chandler, Mix is in his fighting prime and was riding a seven-fight winning streak.

These performances do lasting damage to the reputation of organizations like the PFL in the eyes of casual fans, especially as fringe UFC contenders continue to dismiss their so-called champions.

But this is more a symptom of the lack of elite competition outside the UFC - the very issue at the heart of three ongoing antitrust lawsuits aiming to reform the UFC's business practices and create more freedom of movement within the MMA market.

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