Former Bellator MMA champion Patchy Combine has signed with the UFC and already has his first matchup set, solely a number of days after changing into a free agent.
Combine will face Mario Bautista in a featured bantamweight bout at UFC 316 on June 7 in New Jersey, the group introduced Saturday.
The 31-year-old from Angola, N.Y., was Bellator’s 135-pound champion and boasts a 20-1 professional MMA file.
Combine had been one of many fighters to publicly specific frustration with how the Skilled Fighters League (PFL) dealt with his matchmaking after the group enveloped Bellator late in 2023.
PFL introduced earlier within the week that the group and fighter had “mutually agreed to not lengthen his contract” and that they wished Combine “all the perfect in his future.”
Combine received an interim Bellator title with a spotlight knockout of Raufeon Stots in 2023 and later that 12 months unified the title when he submitted Sergio Pettis. He additionally holds a notable victory over Kyoji Horiguchi, who lately rejoined the UFC.
Bautista, additionally 31, is using a seven-fight successful streak that features an October win over former UFC champion and Corridor of Famer Jose Aldo. Bautista was initially anticipated to face Marlon Vera at UFC 316.
