Report: Former Bellator champ gets short-notice UFC debut against Mario Bautista

Marlon “Chito” Vera will not be fighting Mario Bautista at UFC 316. Instead, Bautista be fighting former Bellator champion Patchy Mix at the June 7 card in Newark, New Jersey.

That’s according to X user @MagicM_MMABets, who has a good track record for breaking fight news.

Mix previously held the Bellator bantamweight title, and was long considered one of the promotion’s top pound-for-pound fighters. However, when Bellator was absorbed by the PFL, he requested his release, and it was granted.

From there, it was quite evident Mix would end up moving to the UFC. However, it’s doubtful anybody expected him to debut in the Octagon so soon.

It turns out he will benefit from Chito’s bad luck. When the Ecuadorian striker was ruled out of his UFC 316 fight with Bautista with an injury, Mix evidently got the call to step in, and accepted — on less than a months’ notice.

How will Patchy Mix do in the UFC?

Patchy Mix will enter his UFC debut sporting a very impressive 20-1 record. That includes wins in his last seven fights.

He won the Bellator bantamweight belt with a knockout win over Raufeon Stots in 2023, and defended it twice before leaving the promotion. His first defense was a submission win over Sergio Pettis, and his second a decision victory over Magomed Magomedov. Other highlights of his recent resume include victories of Kyoji Horiguchi and James Gallagher. His lone loss came against another former Bellator champ in Juan Archuleta.

He will have his work cut out for him against Bautista (15-2). The MMA Lab representative is also riding seven straight victories. That includes a split decision win over MMA legend Jose Aldo in his last fight — though his grinding strategy was the subject of a lot of controversy. He also holds wins over Ricky Simon, Da’Mon Blackshear, Brian Kelleher, and Miles Johns, among others. His lone lsoses have come against Trevin Jones and Cory Sandhagen.

UFC 316 will be headlined by a bantamweight title rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Patchy Mix.