The confidence oozes from Patchy Mix, the Bellator bantamweight champion, and reasonably so. He's ranked No. 9 pound-for-pound at KevinIole.com, but in his view, that's eight slots too low.
Mix, who rematches Magomed Magomedov Friday at Accor Arena in Paris in the main event of Bellator Champions Series 2, has compiled a 19-1 professional MMA record. His only loss came in 2020 when he dropped a decision to Juan Archuleta.
Otherwise, he's beaten everyone they're thrown at him, including former champion Sergio Pettis, Raufeon Stotts and Kyoji Horiguchi, among others. He submitted Magmedov on Dec. 9, 2022, in the semifinals of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix. He's proven he's the best Bellator has to offer, but listen to him and he'll tell you he's the best that MMA has to offer.
UFC champion Sean O'Malley is one of the biggest stars in the sport, but Mix has no doubt he'd handle O'Malley if they ever met. The same is true of his friend, Merab Dvalishvili, who is expected to be O'Malley's next challenger.
His first win over Magomedov was only two years after his loss to Archuleta -- more on that in a bit -- but he submitting Magomedov didn't boost his confidence. He already knew, he said, how good he is and where he should be ranked. KevinIole.com has him ninth pound-for-pound, but he's unranked by both ESPN.com and MMA Junkie. MMA Fighting has him 13th.
Mix, though, trains regularly with Dvalishvili and former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. He said he'll prove himself if he ever gets a chance to fight those guys.
"I'm the best 135-pounder in the world," Mix said. "It's because I train with the likes of Merab and I train with Aljo. I train with all these other big names and stuff and so I know where I stand. They say Sean O'Malley's the best [but] it's without a doubt, I'm the best in the world.
"I didn't get confidence from the grand prix. All the grand prix did was put a million dollars in my bank account. It gave me wealth, you know. But it didn't change my training regimen. If anything, [after winning it], I trained harder. It didn't give me [extra] confidence, though. I've been the best guy in the world for about two years. People don't realize it, but I've been training with Aljo, and he was a GOAT at bantamweight. I've been training with him for a couple of years. I know where my level is because I train with such other high-level pros. I mean, it's not just at my weight, but at 45, at 55 and at 70, and I rarely lose a second."
When he speaks, it's matter of factly and doesn't come across as braggadocios. It seems that way seeing the words on a computer screen, but Mix recites them in the same manner he might read off the alphabet.
To him, it's simple, honest and factual information that shouldn't really be debated.
"I'm in my prime right now, at the peak of my career," Mix said. "A few years ago, guys might catch me. I had that one loss where I had to learn, kind of get that experience. But not only can't they beat me, they just barely survive."
He's 19-1 with that one loss to Archuleta sticking out like a sore thumb. He said he was supposed to fight Archuleta on July 24, 2020, but Archuleta contracted COVID-19. It was in the early days of the pandemic, and Mix didn't anticipate fighting quickly. But Archuleta got better and when Mix was called, he hadn't been training.
He had less than a month's notice, and paid for it, he said.
"[After the fight was postponed], I left training camp and I went home and my birthday was in August and I spent time with my family," Mix said. "They called me to fight him on three weeks' notice. I've never talked about this much, but I took that fight in 20 days. I had 14 days to train for it and then got shipped back to Connecticut and fought him in front of an empty crowd.
"I dominated the first 10 minutes, took his back [and got] maybe even a 10-8 round in the first. Then, I lost three really, really close rounds. What he did is survive me, when you really look at it. You give me proper time to get ready ... and there isn't a guy who's going to compete with me. There isn't a guy who probably won't get finished by me and I'm talking everyone in the world from 1 through 15."
Mix pointed out that when former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is one of the greatest MMA fighters in history, was 24-0, he wasn't as highly regarded as he eventually became.
He thinks his career will play out similarly. He still has work to do at 135, though he says confidently "l've already lapped the field."
Eventually, he said, he'll go to 145 and win a title there.
The biggest thing now is to get past Magomedov, and Mix scoffs when it's referred to as a difficult fight.
"His skill set's limited, man," Mix said. "What I do well is where he's good and I think we're going to go to the ground and I'm going to choke him out."
He's looking to make a statement, and if he does it, don't expect him to go quietly into the night. Patchy Mix is going to have plenty to say.
He always does.