Just hours remain until UFC 316 kicks off the promotion’s summer pay-per-view season, live from the Prudential Center. Appropriately dubbed the ‘Bantamweight Card,’ the event features three bantamweight bouts out of five on the main card, including both the headliner and co-headliner. Several stars have a lot on the line, most notably reigning 135lbs champion Merab Dvalishvili, who defends his title in a heated rematch against longtime rival Sean O’Malley.

While Dvalishvili aims to secure a 2-0 lead in his rivalry with ‘Suga’, fresh threats are already on the horizon—one coming from a familiar face. Patchy Mix, a fast-rising bantamweight contender and former training partner of ‘The Machine’, will make his highly anticipated UFC debut on the same night against Mario Bautista. Following a dominant championship run in Bellator, Mix arrives in the UFC as a fan favorite, with many already eyeing him as a potential challenger down the line.

Now training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Mix previously worked alongside Merab  Dvalishvili at John Wood’s Syndicate MMA and 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu in Vegas. The two reportedly sparred “hundreds of rounds,” fueling speculation that the Bellator veteran could soon pose a legitimate threat to Dvalishvili’s reign. While ‘No Love’ still needs a few more wins before earning a title shot, the potential rivalry has already sparked buzz within the MMA world—a sentiment reflected by Home of Fight’s Jake Noecker, who asked the Georgian’s coach about Patchy Mix’s “potential” as Merab’s “next” opponent.

Coach Wood responded with a grounded perspective. He acknowledged Patchy Mix as a “great fighter” thanks to his run in Bellator, but quickly poured cold water on the idea that he poses an immediate danger to Merab Dvalishvili. Stressing the difference in competition level between the UFC and other promotions, Coach Wood said,

“I think the UFC is different. It’s a whole different animal. We’ve seen great guys come over and…I don’t want to say necessarily s the bed*—but we’ve seen a lot of guys s** the bed*. I don’t think that’s going to happen with Patchy, but we’ll see how it goes. Bautista is no easy matchup for anybody.”

Coach Wood’s comments echo a lesson MMA fans were reminded of last year, when Dana White and his company tried to revitalize the flyweight division by quickly giving former RIZIN bantamweight champion Kai Asakura a title shot against reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 310. On that night, however, Pantoja made quick work of the Japanese standout, submitting him easily and highlighting the stark difference in competition. It was a clear reminder that the UFC isn’t just another promotion.

Patchy Mix predicts his matchup against former training partner Merab Dvalishvili

It’s been months since Patchy Mix and Merab Dvalishvili last trained together, but their sportsmanship and brotherhood remain as strong as ever despite the time apart. When Mix was released from the PFL, he immediately sought out UFC champion Dvalishvili to share his plans to sign up with the UFC. Reflecting on that moment, ‘No Love’ said, “I told him as a man, ‘Hey, I might come over.’ … I wanted to tell him, ‘As a man, I might come over, I want to let you know so maybe we can distance training.’”

Although Merab Dvalishvili wasn’t surprised when the news of  Mix joining the UFC became public, when it comes to competition, ‘No Love’ sees himself operating on a different level than ‘The Machine’. Speaking about the UFC 316 main event between Merab and Sean O’Malley, Patchy Mix shared his mindset in an interview with Shakeil Mahjouri on YouTube.

“Merab’s just on this real dominant run. He’s very good, like don’t get me wrong, like very good. I don’t think, with all due respect, I think he’s very good against everyone but I don’t think he’s very good against me. I think I’m a whole different matchup for these guys.”

Despite his confidence, Patchy Mix acknowledges that he still needs a year or two before he’s ready to contend for the title seriously. It will be fascinating to see if Merab Dvalishvili can maintain his hold on the belt that long. Stay tuned.