Patchy Mix’s Biggest Win at Bellator Contender Series 2 Didn’t Come in the Cage

Patchy Mix had a lot of business to accomplish during his trip to Paris to headline the Bellator Contender Series 2 card. Yes, Mix was slated to defend his bantamweight championship against Magomed Magomedov Friday. But Mix used the trip to take care of some personal business.

Mix proposed to his girlfriend Tatiana Suarez with the Eiffel Tower in the background on Thursday. Suarez is also a fighter, competing in the UFC’s strawweight division. But once Mix did get into the cage, he fought like a man under an immense amount of pressure.

During the leadup to his first bantamweight title defense, Mix made a big push to promote himself as the best bantamweight in the world. But Mix didn’t look the part against an opponent he had previously submitted. 

Magomedov landed the harder strikes and kept the pressure on throughout the fight. Mix wasn’t able to lock up any submissions. However, a guillotine attempt in the third round was close.

Magomedov landed two flurries on punches that stunned Mix in the first and third rounds. When the fight reached the cards, many people expected Magomdeov to get his hand raised. However, the judges rewarded Mix with a split-decision victory. Two judges scored the fight 48-47 for Mix, while one gave the fight to Magomedov.

Doumbe Puts Past Behind Him

Cedric Doumbe suffered one of the more bizarre losses in MMA history during his previous fight in Paris. A small piece of glass had become lodged in Doumbe’s foot. When he pointed the injury out to referee Marc Goddard, he waved off the fight, and Doumbe suffered his first loss as a professional.

Doumbe showed against American fighter Jaleel Willis Friday that he can rely on more than his strong kickboxing roots. Doumbe landed a takedown early in the first round, but Willis worked back to his feet. Doumbe landed a flurry of punches that stung Willis late in the first round.

Doumbe pushed Willis against the cage and forced a stoppage with repeated strikes to the head. Referee Mike Beltran stepped in to stop the fight and help Doumbe improve his record to 6-1 in his career.

Ladd Wants to Get Back on Championship Track

Aspen Ladd wants to know the PFL’s plans for her future. While Ladd waits to find out, she wants to try to build some of the momentum she had earlier in her career. Ladd won the first eight fights of her career and was considered a future title challenger in the UFC.

Then, in July 2019, Ladd lost to Germaine de Randamie by 16 seconds. Since then, she has gone 4-4 in her fights between the PFL, UFC, and Bellator. Ladd was able to do the job Friday in Paris.

Ladd bounced back from a loss to former PFL champion Kayla Harrison by picking up a unanimous decision victory over Ekaterina Shakalova. Ladd was more efficient with striking and could do enough to swing the judges in her favor.

MMAfighting latest news shows that the PFL didn’t have a season in Ladd’s weight class this year, but Ladd hopes they will bring it back next year so she can compete for a $1 million prize. 

Van Steenis Switches Camp, Picks up Career-Changing Win

Costello Van Steenis wanted to do whatever it took to ensure getting a shot at Johnny Eblen for the middleweight title. During the lead up to the fight, Van Steenis reached out to an old coach in Spain to get some more feedback. In the past, Van Steenis lost fights to John Salter and Douglas Lima, which could have propelled him to the top of the weight division.

Van Steenis turned in a performance in Paris that will give Eblen something to worry about. He never let Gergory Babene feel comfortable. Van Steenis did a good job mixing his wrestling and striking. During the second round, Van Steenis could take advantage of being in a strong position on the ground to wrap up a Von Flue choke to win in the second round.

Colgan Protects His Zero

The best MMA news sites show that there are few things in the sport that can add more pressure to a fighter than protecting an undefeated record. With how many different styles fighters can use during fights, it is difficult to be prepared for every scenario. Archie Colgan continued his mastery of the sport against Thibault Gouti.

Colgan was able to mix striking and grappling to earn his third straight decision victory. The American fighter is now 10-0. Gouti has won five of his previous six fights entering this matchup. He fell to 17-7 in his career.

Shipman Pulls Off Win as Slight Underdog

Mike Shipman was priced as an underdog against Steven Hill. But the fight between the two men made it appear that Hill was unworthy to share the same cage with Shipman. Shipman controlled the fight from the opening bell, putting a lot of pressure on Hill.

Shipman’s striking and grappling took a cumulative toll. By the time that Hill made it back to his stool, he was unable to continue. Shipman has now picked up back-to-back victories. 

This was an important result for Shipman, who had recently lost to Babene, Fabian Edwards, and Costello Van Steenis in his previous six bouts. This win may help position Shipman to continue getting matched up with other ranked fighters.

Here’s a look at the results from the rest of the fights not mentioned above:

• Featherweight, Yves Landu won by split decision over Jonas Bilharinho, 30-27 and 29-28 Landu, 29-28 Bilharinho
• Lightweight, Mansour Barnaoui won by submission (brabo choke) over Yusuke Yachi, Round 1 4:08
• Featherweight, Asael Adjoudj won by TKO (punches) over Bruno Fontes, Round 2 1:11

Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.

By Dean McHugh.