Patchy Mix doesn’t want to let James Gallagher off the hook.
Mix (14-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) was originally scheduled to face Gallagher at Bellator 258 this past Friday, but Gallagher withdrew due to a shoulder injury. Mix fought ex-UFC bantamweight Albert Morales instead and submitted him in the third round.
Gallagher (11-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) was there to corner teammate Peter Queally in his upset win over Patricky Freire and made sure to make his presence felt. Mix said Gallagher raided his DMs and he revealed what the Irishman told him.
“Just basically saying he’s a higher-status fighter, that I want to be where he is, just talking a lot of bullsh*t about money – just real immature,” Mix told MMA Junkie Radio. “It was like some high school sh*t, to be honest with you. He was just talking about a lot of sh*t that didn’t mean anything, and I was just talking facts.
“We were scheduled to fight. I’m not sure why he pulled out, but he wanted me to wait for the fight. He said, ‘Don’t fight on May 7, wait until June or July.’ And I told him prior to this, ‘I’m not waiting for no fight. I want to fight May 7 and then we’ll fight after that.’ But now that I’ve gotten through May 7, I haven’t heard a word out of him.”
Mix thinks it only makes sense for them to settle the score in a No. 1 contender bout. If not, he’d be happy to directly face newly crowned bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis.
“I think he was ranked (No.) 4 or 5 when we were matched. This is the fight to make,” Mix said. “We were already matched. He pulled out. There’s not a clear reason why he pulled out – he says because of injury. So if he’s not injured, the James Gallagher fight is the fight to be made. Me vs. him – I run right through him, and then I get a shot at Pettis.
“That would be my goal. If not, and Pettis needs to stay active, I’m next in line in the division. I’m ranked No. 2. I think it goes Pettis, Archuleta, then myself. So I’m right there. I’m not that far from the title shot, so I just want the fight that was originally booked because I really want to highlight-reel Gallagher out there.”
