Patchy Mix narrowly avoided disaster.
The 30-year-old American defended his Bellator bantamweight title with a split decision over Russian rival Magomed Magomedov on Friday at Accor Arena in the main event of Bellator Paris. Two judges scored the contest 48-47 for Mix, while the lone dissenter had it 49-46 for Magomedov.
“I think he just came prepared and this is two high-level guys, so I guess it was a high-level contested fight, for sure,” a relieved Mix said afterward.
Mix (20-1) previously choked Magomedov (20-4) unconscious with a second-round guillotine choke in their first meeting at the Bellator bantamweight grand prix semifinal in December 2022, however Friday’s rematch was significantly more competitive.
Magomedov hurt Mix early in the opening round with a pair of hard punches that set the tone for the back-and-forth battle that followed. Mix then seized back momentum in the second and third rounds when he jumped onto two more tight guillotine chokes and nearly repeated history. The third-round attempt, in particular, was the closest anyone came to finding a finish, but Magomedov escaped and continued to pepper the champ with strikes from distance.
The championship rounds followed a similar theme, as Mix worked his jab and hunted for a series of unsuccessful takedowns along the fence, while Magomedov mixed his attack from range. Magomedov ultimately out-landed Mix by a tally of 86-79 in total strikes, but Mix’s workrate was enough to give him the nod in two judges’ eyes, securing his first successful defense of the Bellator bantamweight belt.
Afterward, Mix called out one-time Bellator title challenger Leandro Higo for his next title defense.
