Archuleta vs Mix | Bellator MMA
Bellator 246: “Archuleta vs. Mix” is set to air TONIGHT (Sat., Sept. 12, 2020) from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Bantamweight division crowns a new champion this evening as the undefeated Patchy Mix (13-0) takes on “The Spaniard” Juan Archuleta (24-2).
Bellator 246’s main card will start at 10 p.m. ET on Paramount and DAZN (watch it here) with “Prelims” undercard bouts via YouTube at 7:15 p.m. ET. MMAmania.com will deliver results for the full card and comprehensive play-by-play for the televised portion of Bellator 246’s card below.
Many readers check in before, during and after the fights to share their thoughts on all of the action. Feel free to leave a comment (or 246) about the bouts and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show — it’s always a lot of fun!
BELLATOR 246 QUICK RESULTS:
Juan Archuleta vs. Patchy Mix — Archuleta UD 49-46, 48-47 X2.
Jon Fitch vs. Neiman Gracie — Gracie sub (heel hook) 4:47 R2.
Liz Carmouche vs. DeAnna Bennett — Carmouche sub (RNC) 3:17 R3.
Derek Campos vs. Keoni Diggs — Diggs tech. sub (RNC) 4:59 R3.
Pat Casey vs. Daniel Madrid — Madrid SD 28-29, 30-27, 29-28.
Ty Gwerder vs. George Tokkos — Gwerder TKO 1:05 R3.
Davion Franklin vs. Ras Hylton — Franklin UD 30-27 X3.
BELLATOR 246 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
Juan Archuleta vs. Patchy Mix
Black trunks and blue gloves for the undefeated 13-0 Mix, fighting out of Angola, New York. Black trunks and red gloves for “The Spaniard” Archuleta, complete with his conquistador style hat, fighting out of Hesperia, California. Our referee is Jason Herzog.
Round 1: A quick tap at the center gets us underway. Mix with a leg kick. Mix with a body kick. Archuleta dances on the outside, Mix clinches and pushes him to the fence, and they struggle for dominance there. Mix gets his takedown at 1:07. Archuleta gets back up 32 seconds later. Mix lets go of a takedown attempt and they return to stand up. Half of round one is gone. Archuleta swings and misses and Mix jumps on his back with a figure four body lock, dragging the fight to the ground. Mix is fishing to get an arm under the chin and Archuleta is defending well so far. Mix gets full mount right before the bell. 10-9 Mix.
Round 2: Front kick from Mix as he follows Archuleta across the cage. Mix shoots drops levels and gets the takedown at 36 seconds, looking for an inverted triangle as he ends up on Archuleta’s back. It becomes a stalemate as neither man wants to make a wrong move and give up a potential submission. Mix switches to take the back at 2:25. He’s looking for a rear naked choke again. Archuleta tries to elbow the legs wrapped around him, but he has better luck spinning out on top and getting back to his feet at 3:55. Knees to the legs. Mix takes his back again. Archuleta gets the switch at 4:35. Big hammerfists and ground and pound. Huge knee to the body. Strikes from behind. Archuleta did more damage overall this round and gets a 10-9.
Round 3: Archuleta continues to work shots to the body for the first minute. Body head. Body head head. Archuleta is getting more confident with every slip and rip. Mix misses with a knee. Archuleta fires a leg kick. Head body. Leg kick for Mix. Right hook for Archuleta. Another right hook. Hard right to the chin. Archuleta’s in and out with a combo. 90 seconds left. Body shots thud home. Mix can’t get him to the ground or land any significant damage. Archuleta hurts him with a right and immediately lands a left over the top. Commentary wanted to give the last round to Mix but there’s no way they can’t give this one to Archuleta.
Round 4: Archuleta is trying to land bombs now. He was looking for a home run with an elbow at close range. Mix is following Archuleta across the cage but he’s not the one pulling the trigger or landing the damaging blows. Archuleta is able to keep Mix guessing by fainting low and going high, teasing hooks and ripping to the body. The damage keeps pilin up. Now it’s Archuleta who gets the takedown at 2:15. They get right back up at 2:27 and Herzog calls time for what he thought was an illegal kick, but it was totally clean. The fight is quickly restarted. Archuleta continues to dance around and make Mix give chase. Mix misses with a front kick. Leg kick for Archuleta. Mix misses with a leg kick. Body shot for Archuleta. Combo from Mix. Front kick for Mix. Kick and body shot. Body head. Head body. Archuleta is just laser precise with the combos. 10-9 Archuleta.
Round 5: Archuleta is just mercilessly ripping to the body for the first minute of the round. One wonders how many more of these Mix can take before he folds in half. You can tell it’s sucking the energy and life out of Mix. He’s not going for the takedowns. He’s not even able to chase Archuleta down. He’s just slowly walking toward him and throwing out kicks, and Archuleta is punishing him with rips to the body. The left hook to the equator is just nasty. Mix lands a straight hand but Archuleta shrugs it off. Mix with a head kick. They tie up with two minutes left. There’s blood trickling from Mix’s nose as his back is on the fence. Herzog warns him about shots to the back of the head. Archuleta nearly trips him to the ground but Mix grabbed the fence and got a warning for it. Archuleta turns him away from the cage and cold cocks him with an elbow on the exit. 30 seconds left. Mix misses with a spin kick. Archuleta lets it flow and goes body head body head for the last 10 seconds. Mix is grunting and throwing but nothing lands. Archuleta 10-9. I’ve got him four rounds to one but the scorecards are likely to be three rounds to two. Either way Archuleta is the champion.
Final result: The judges score it 49-46, 48-47 X2 for Archuleta by unanimous decision.
Jon Fitch vs. Neiman Gracie
Gracie has on black trunks and blue gloves, a pro record of 9-1, his only loss being a decision against Rory MacDonald in his last fight. He does cartwheels across the cage as Eric B. & Rakim’s “Don’t Sweat the Technique” plays. Jon Fitch has black trunks and red gloves, a record of 32-7-2 (1 NC) and he comes out to Johnny Cash doing a cover of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage.” Gracie fights out of New York, NY by way of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Fitch fights out of San Jose, California. Our referee is Kevin MacDonald.
Round 1: Gracie tries to take the center and Fitch backs him up with his hands. Gracie dances forward and back in front of Fitch as he lands a couple of leg kicks. Fitch puts a left on Gracie’s chin and pushes him into the cage. He lands some nice shoulder strikes as they battle back and forth. Gracie turns him around for a leg trip and goes for a leg lock. Fitch is able to escape at 2:40 and Gracie is on top in full guard. He jumps to half guard at 3:10. Fitch tries to get to his feet and Gracie goes for his back against the fence. Gracie goes to piggyback, Fitch makes him slide off, but Gracie is fishing for a submission the whole time. 45 seconds left. Fitch survives with his arm trapped at the bell. 10-9 Gracie.
Round 2: Fitch and Gracie trade hard strikes for the first 30 seconds until Gracie secures a takedown. Fitch has his back to the fence and is able to get back to his feet at 1:26. Gracie is working shot shots to the body and battling for head position and underhooks. Fitch pushes him away from the cage and Gracie pushes right back. Gracie finally backs up at 2:48 looking to let his hands go. He uses that to set up a back take and get Fitch down to a knee for just a moment. 3:20 gone. Knee from Fitch. Gracie drops levels and yanks Fitch to the ground. He takes the back and then they end up in a 50/50 position on their posteriors as Gracie looks for a submission. He’s got it. Jon Fitch taps but he’s all smiles about it. They continue to compliment each other as we go to a replay of the submission.
Final result: Neiman Gracie by submission (heel hook) at 4:47 of the second round.
Liz Carmouche vs. DeAnna Bennett
Bennett has blue trunks, blue gloves and a white top on, pro record of 10-6-1 going into tonight’s fight. Carmouche has black trunks, red gloves and a black top on, a pro record of 13-7 heading into her Bellator debut. Carmouche was 125.5, Bennett missed weight by a WIDE margin at 131.7. Bennett fights out of Oakhurst, New Jersey. Carmouche fights out of San Diego, California. Our referee is Todd Anderson.
Round 1: Carmouche wastes little time coming forward and landing a right hand, then taking Bennett’s back to slam her to the ground. Bennett fights for wrist control as Carmouche draws a warning to watch for shots to the back of the head. Bennett gets back up at 1:12 and Carmouche pushes her into the fence. Carmouche and Bennett jockey for position until Carmouche resets at 2:12. Another right hand from Carmouche. Leg kick for Carmouche. Even though Bennett keeps her hands up Carmouche still manages to come over the top and connect. Superman punch at 3:37. Bennett tries to clinch and Carmouche drives her back into the cage. They jockey for position again. Carmouche tries to take her back on a roll through, Bennett ends up punching her in the butt, and they stand up before the bell. 10-9 Carmouche.
Round 2: Carmouche and Bennett circle each other in the center. Carmouche jabs with the left and comes over the top with the right. Bennett shoots for a double at 1:38 and gets a takedown six seconds later. Carmouche had a foot on the fence, seemingly toes linked in the cage, but the referee did nothing to separate it. Bennett spun her out of the position anyway and she gets to work on top. Carmouche gets back to her knees but Bennett moves to her back. Carmouche explodes for a heel hook and Bennett tries to spin to get away. Bennett is punching her in the ribs as Carmouche tries to secure it, and Carmouche ultimately lets go. 40 seconds left. Bennett pours on strikes on top late. 10-9 Bennett.
Round 3: Carmouche goes for a single leg quickly this round but Bennett stands up against the fence. Carmouche isn’t giving up the position though and keeps digging to break Bennett’s grip and get her to the canvas. They spin away from the fence and back into it at 1:46. Bennett turns her around at 2:14. Bennett drops levels but Carmouche goes for the switch and gets her back. Both women are warned not to grab the fence. Two minutes are left. Carmouche jumps to the back with both hooks in, takes the neck, and it’s over just seconds later for the submission.
Final result: Liz Carmouche wins via rear naked choke at 3:17 of round three.
Derek Campos vs. Keoni Diggs
Campos is 20-10, Diggs is 8-0 and missed weight for this fight by coming in at 157 lbs. He has black trunks and blue gloves on, fighting out of Wahiaiwa, Hawaii. Campos fights out of Lubbock, Texas with the black trunks and red gloves. Kevin MacDonald is the referee.
Round 1: Campos and Diggs trade kicks in the center. Campos tries to blast him with a big right but he avoids it. Diggs works kicks to the leg. Left hook from Diggs. Campos presses him toward the outside. Diggs and Campos clinch and Campos puts him on the fence at 1:56. Diggs turns him around and Campos answers right back. Diggs spins again and takes him down at 2:18. Diggs is firing body shots and left hands from full guard. Campos tries to scramble and gets back to his knees until Diggs yanks him back down and gets both hooks in on back mount. He’s got an arm under the chin for a second but lets it go. One minute to go in the round. Campos tries to escape but Diggs gets the arm around his neck against the fence. He lets it go and Campos scrambles to get on top with short time. 10-9 Diggs.
Round 2: Campos is applying the forward pressure but it’s Diggs who lands the good kick. Campos lands a hard right to the body. Campos shoots for a double and Diggs widens his stance. Campos can’t finish it. Diggs circles off at 1:13. Hard lefts from Diggs are bloodying up Campos’ face. Diggs tags Campos twice with his hands and spins him around with a leg kick. Body shot from Diggs. Another hard left to the body at the halfway point. Overhand right. Leg kick for Campos. Body kick from Diggs. Clinch. Campos tries to drop levels. He misses with a wild uppercut on the break. Body kick for Diggs. Left jab. Leg kick for Campos. Hard right for Diggs. Leg kick for Diggs. Right hands from Diggs. 10-9 Diggs.
Round 3: Campos takes a knee right up the middle as he shoots Diggs into the fence. He tries and fails to drag Diggs down, and Diggs turns him around into the cage. Campos turns him to a 50/50 position and they battle for control against the cage until they break at 1:35. Diggs trips him to the ground seconds later. Diggs postures up for left hands and elbows. Blood is leaking from above Campos’ right eye. Diggs backs up and avoids upkicks before jumping back on top. Campos regains his feet at 3:15 but immediately drops levels. Diggs overpowers him with a sprawl and a headlock. He spins to take the back with a left hand to the head and gets one hook in against the fence. One minute left. Campos stands up but Diggs still has his back and is looking for the rear naked choke again when it goes back to the ground. Campos goes out RIGHT at the bell and Diggs gets the submission.
Final result: Keoni Diggs wins by technical submission (rear naked choke) 4:59 R3.
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