Scouting Report: Patrick Mix

Patrick Mix

Born: Aug. 16, 1993 (Age: 29) in Buffalo, New York Division: Bantamweight
Height: 5’11”
Reach: 71.5”
Record: 17-1 (6-1 Bellator)
Association: Xtreme Couture
Stage of Career: Prime

Summary: “Patchy” Mix is one of the sport’s premier grapplers. His ability to take down top wrestlers and grapplers with ease, lock in a body triangle and, in many cases submit them, is mind-blowing. His physical strength is monstrous, and he may have the tightest grip pound-for-pound in MMA, on top of superlative technique, a virtuoso ability to transition from one position to another and shocking balance. He has one of the best guillotines of all-time but can finish in a variety of ways, including exotic submissions like the Suloev stretch. Additionally, he has excellent cardio, so he can compete well into later rounds, with a number of third-round submissions on his resume. Unfortunately, Mix’s striking leaves a lot to be desired, being generally poor and largely relying on a solid front kick to the body. He has a stout chin and can absorb damage, but take away his grappling—almost impossible to do in practice, to be fair—and he becomes quite vulnerable.

STRIKING

• Stance: Southpaw.
• Hand Speed: Average to slightly below average. Difficult to say since poor technique makes him tentative.
• Jab: A clumsy, weak arm punch.
• Cross: Weak, slow cross and often airy and reaching.
• Right Hook: An awkward blow that badly lacks rotation and power. He has hit opponents flush with it, with little to know effect.
• Overhand Left: Does not throw it.
• Uppercuts: Avoids using them.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Throws a strike at a time.
• Favorite Combinations: The one-two, which is poor and inaccurate, with a telegraphed cross.
• Leg Kicks: Fairly fast but light.
• Body Kicks: His best strikes by far. Throws a front kick to the body with suddenness, speed and flexibility, and he lands frequently, though it lacks a little power.
• Head Kicks: Technical enough, with some impact, but they are telegraphed and easy to block.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.

There is no nice way to say it: Mix is a poor striker. He is sorely lacking in technique with regards to his punches, which are all easy to avoid and weak when they do land. His kicks are better, but only the front kick to the body is an effective weapon at his current level. Moreover, Mix has fairly poor defense. His stance is wide and his feet are often at 90 degrees. He is susceptible to leg kicks, which he does not check or avoid. He does not defend his body at all and ate a frightening number of punches there in his lone loss to Juan Archuleta. He also lacks head movement and defensive instincts. Mix’s main defense may be the holy terror that is his grappling, as many opponents are loath to even engage at close range for fear of being taken down.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: Extraordinary.
• Technique: Textbook perfect with tremendous balance. He has mastered virtually every position imaginable, can create crazy scrambles and cycles from one position to another at breathtaking speed.
• Knees: Rarely throws them since he focuses on grappling.
• Elbows: Does not utilize them.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: He can be hit with knees, but it is always a gamble since it makes it easier for him to take opponents down.

Mix can take down any bantamweight in the world in the clinch, as he has proven against terrific grapplers like Archuleta, James Gallagher, Kyoji Horiguchi and Magomed Magomedov. He is susceptible to knees at times, but that is a major risk for opponents to take given his grappling greatness.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: A lightning-quick, breathtaking transition from striking to wrestling that catches opponents off-guard, along with the fantastic ability to chain wrestle to a takedown or just lift opponents from a body lock to slam them down.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Incredible ability to get takedowns and break down anyone with his seamless, blisteringly fast transitions and superlative grip strength. Repeatedly took down Archuleta, Gallagher, Horiguchi and Magomedov.
• Takedown Defense: Can stuff even excellent attempts by fantastic grapplers. He has occasionally been taken down, mostly due to his awkwardness in the striking phase or it being in the later rounds.
• Ability to Return to Feet: When he wants to, he instantly hip escapes or wall walks against just about everyone.
• Submissions: Excels at cinching a body lock against virtually anyone, then holding it with perfect balance through any movement or transition. He can finish with a plethora of different submissions, from a rear-naked choke to a kneebar to even a Suloev stretch. Special credit has to go to his guillotine, which ranks among the best in the sport’s history. Not only is the technique perfect, fast and monstrously strong, but his ability to make little transitions through his opponent’s movements, especially in a manner to horrifically torque the head, is truly jaw-dropping.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: He can get up instantly and is always a threat to sweep.
• Top Control: Sticks to opponents like glue, keeps up with any transitions and often locks in his favored body triangle from the back. Due to his insistence on hunting for submissions, he has allowed a few opponents to get up fairly quickly and painlessly.
• Ground-and-Pound: His punches are not particularly damaging, but he has an amazing ability to land elbows to the head from virtually any position, including from the back of a body triangle. For most fighters, they would lack the balance and simply fall off from attempting the strike, but Mix can connect again and again while perfectly stable.

Mix is one of the top grapplers around and spellbinding to watch. It begins with his takedowns, which he has used to repeatedly ground many excellent grapplers, including a solid Division I wrestler like Archuleta. He has one of the fastest transitions from striking to wrestling in history, and thanks to his incredible strength, he can sometimes just lift opponents from a body lock and slam them to the canvas. If that approach fails, Mix will simply chain wrestle them until they are grounded and overwhelm them in the clinch, where he is an even better wrestler. Once on top, he has amazing agility and speed to go along with his strength, often taking the back and locking in a body triangle. His submissions are his main threat, and he specializes in a variety of them. Mix’s otherworldly guillotine has put away fantastic grapplers like Gallagher and Magomedov. His takedown defense is outstanding, as well, and even if he finds himself on the bottom, the New York native can instantly wall walk or hip escape back to his feet.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: One of the most powerful pound-for-pound fighters in MMA to go along with amazing agility and flexibility.
• Cardio: He can grapple at a breakneck pace but not for all five rounds. While he does not necessarily look winded, opponents have managed to force him to strike late in bouts.
• Chin: Took plenty of hard, flush punches from Archuleta and was never remotely hurt.
• Recuperative Powers: To be determined.
• Intelligence: A grappling genius like Mix needs to have a high fight IQ to make his style work and mask his weaknesses. However, given the lack of improvement in his striking over multiple fights, the jury remains out in some respects.