In the lead-up to Bellator 270, things got heated – personal, even – between Patchy Mix and James Gallagher. Now that it’s over, the winner walks away with a newfound respect for his adversary.
Mix went into hostile territory Friday and took care of business in front of a raucous Irish crowd, submitting the hometown favorite Gallagher by early third-round guillotine choke in the night’s co-headliner at 3Arena. Aside from fighting at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2019, which he wasn’t sure was even comparable, Mix said his Dublin experience was unlike any of his other fights.
“It was like a movie, I’m telling you. Something incredible,” Mix told reporters backstage after his win. “I always want to fight in front of that to be honest with you. It was crazy.”
Along with Gallagher (11-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) in the cage, Mix (15-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) had everyone in the building against him, which he felt throughout the fight. There was also the continued trash talk from Gallagher during a pretty evenly contested bout. Mix said Gallagher told him “you’ve got nothing for me” and “you’ve got sh*t for me” on several occasions.
Antics aside, Mix admitted that Gallagher was a tougher challenge than he expected. And with that comes a certain amount of respect.
“Yeah, he was tougher than I expected. I knew he was mature,” Mix said. (Pre-fight trash talk) was banter to sell the fight, as well. He’s talking a lot, I’m talking a lot, we wanted a lot of fans here, we wanted the energy here. He earned my respect. He did have my respect before, as well. As a competitor, he has my respect.
“Outside of that, there are some moral codes that you have to abide by. Maybe he don’t like me, and I don’t like him, but I still kind of respect his game and stuff like that.”
Post-fight respect seemed to be important to Mix, especially since he anticipates having to cross paths with Gallagher down the line.
“When the dust settled, I wanted to be respectful,” Mix said. “There was nothing but respect in the cage after the fight was done. Emotions settled, and I could shake his hand and now be a fan of him. I think we’ll meet again, as well.”
Whenever that may happen, it shouldn’t be for a while. In the meantime, Mix, who was ranked No. 3 in the Bellator bantamweight rankings heading into Bellator 270, has his eye on a potential fight against the winner of the Dec. 3 title fight between champ Sergio Pettis and Kyoji Horiguchi.
His only career loss was to Juan Archuleta for the vacant belt in September 2020.
“I’m right there. I’m 15-1 now with 12 finishes,” Mix said. “I feel like I’m right there, but whatever Bellator wants to do I’m down for. I definitely want another shot at the belt. I just captured this name with a big finish.”
Patchy Mix after Bellator 270 submission win: James Gallagher ‘earned my respect’