The first time Patchy Mix challenged for a Bellator bantamweight championship, he wasn’t ready.

The wins (13 at the time, with no losses) were under his belt in September 2020 as he squared off against Juan Archuleta for the vacant title.

But Mix can look back now and see that, in an odd way, his knack for first-round submissions worked against him in the Archuleta fight, in which he found success early before tailing off and dropping a unanimous decision.

“I feel [I had] inexperience due to me being able to finish people so fast,” Mix told The Post via Zoom in advance of Saturday’s interim bantamweight title fight against champion Raufeon Stots at Bellator 295 (11 p.m. Eastern, Showtime) in Hawaii. “At that time in my career, if you looked at how much cage time I actually had, it equated to maybe, let’s say, three or four full fights. So it was just because I finished so many people so fast I didn’t really get a lot of rounds that I needed to get the experience I needed now to compete against someone that’s of such a high level in Juan Archuleta.”

No quick finishes since Mix’s first career defeat; no losses either.

And the submissions that have become his trademark, particularly a potent guillotine choke, are still coming as Mix (17-1, 13 finishes) tapped out Albert Morales, James Gallagher and, in his most recent outing in December, Magomed Magomedov — well, the last one didn’t tap and went out from the choke.

He even picked up a decision victory over former Bellator champ and current Rizin titleholder Kyoji Horiguchi, doing so over five rounds as part of the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix Tournament.

The Horiguchi victory came in Honolulu almost exactly a year ago in the quarterfinals, and the win over Magomedov propelled Mix into the tournament final against Stots, with the victor also taking home a $1 million prize.

Time, both in the cage and in training, has Mix better prepared for the biggest moment of his athletic career. 

“I feel better prepared, a better mindset, a better camp,” says Mix, whose loss to Archuleta came not long after Bellator returned from a five-month hiatus during the early stages of the pandemic. “It was the time when we were doing COVID, so a lot of gyms were under real strict, let’s say, occupancy [limits], like with my training partners and such. So now, I just have more momentum. I’m able to train full time. I’m able to do this full-time and put my all into it. I think now, three years later, I’m just a whole ’nother fighter, a whole new animal.”

Mix, who won’t turn 30 until August, is five years younger and listed at four inches taller than Stots (19-1, eight finishes), a former NCAA Division II champion wrestler who is a considerably less-frequent finisher than the standout submission ace from the Buffalo area, who now trains primarily in Las Vegas.

In Mix’s estimation, he’s better equipped to get the win, the cool million, and the shiny belt.

“My skill set will trump his,” Mix said. “I think he’s good. I’m prepared for war. I’m prepared to go through Hell and back to earn my world title, to earn the million dollars and to earn that Grand Prix title, as well.”

Note that the title up for grabs is an interim one, as champion Sergio Pettis was forced out of the tournament before it began by a torn ACL.

But the winner of Mix vs. Stots may not necessarily face Pettis next, as the primary 135-pound titleholder is scheduled to face current Bellator featherweight champion and former lightweight champ Patricio Pitbull, who’s looking to become MMA’s first fighter to win a major promotional title in three weight classes.

Mix isn’t looking past Stots, but he noted that he isn’t too bothered by the June 16 booking because of the stature of Pitbull — and what that could mean for him if he holds the interim belt when he leaves Hawaii.

“Normally, I would maybe get upset if I didn’t see who it was. If it was another bantamweight, I probably would raise hell. Like, ‘He wasn’t in the tournament. How did he get the opportunity?’ ” Mix imagines. “But since it’s someone so worthy as Patricio Pitbull, I don’t mind. … In the end of it all, I want to fight the best guys, and Patricio Pitbull’s No. 1. 

“So if he goes down and beats Sergio Pettis, [and] I go out there and stamp myself a superfight against [Bellator’s] pound-for-pound No. 1, that sounds amazing to me. And if he doesn’t beat Pettis, Pettis will beat him, and he’ll be pound-for-pound Nos. 1 or 2. So either way, I have an opportunity to fight, who they deem is one of the best in Bellator after this fight, so I’m super excited to have the opportunity.”