NASHVILLE – Bryce Mitchell said a lot in a roughly 30-second rant with UFC commentator Daniel Cormier following his victory at UFC on ESPN+ 6.
Mitchell (11-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who beat Bobby Moffett (14-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) by unanimous decision on Saturday’s card at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., said afterward that he planned on taking his mother out for a steak to celebrate, demanded respect for the people of Arkansas, and pleaded Reebok to make some camo-style fight trunks.
He said none of it was a joke.
“My whole career everyone has been telling me, ‘You got to leave Arkansas if you ever want to be good. You got to go here, go there or somewhere else’ like the water is special or they put their pants on a different way,” Mitchell told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC on ESPN+ 6. “I don’t know what it is, but everyone is telling me, ‘You got to leave Arkansas to be fancy.’ I just never believed it. I believed in myself, my teammates, my coaches, my family, my upbringing. That’s what I think about it.”
Mitchell will go back to Arkansas after the win, though, and he said he’s picking the restaurant where he’ll dine with his mother.
“I’m taking her to Texas Roadhouse,” Mitchell said. “It’s a done deal. She doesn’t get to pick because every time she picks she’s like, ‘Oh, I want to go here.’ Then she’ll change her mind. It’s a whole ordeal. I’m just going to tell her we’re going to Texas Roadhouse.”
And as far as the shorts, Mitchell doesn’t understand why it’s so difficult.
“I’ve been wanting these camo shorts,” Mitchell said. “They think I’m playing around about that. I’m dead serious, y’all got to get me some of those camo shorts. Like the real deal camo.”
When it comes to his performance against Moffett, Mitchell said it was good enough. He would’ve liked the finish, but he felt undersized in the octagon after cutting too much weight, he said.
“I think my biggest thing is still my size,” Mitchell said. “The dude was just so much bigger and stronger than me. … I put on all the weight I needed to with this fight, it’s just I cut it too soon and wasn’t able to regain it back. The biggest thing is my size and just perfecting my weight cut and just getting out there and getting a little bit bigger. I’ll get bigger and stronger next time you all see me.”
Regardless of how it went down, though, Mitchell winning at UFC on ESPN+ 6 should serve as a point of pride. Roughly six months ago, Mitchell tore his scrotum in a power drill accident and was nearly left dead. He miraculously recovered and got back in the cage, but now he said some time off is required to focus on his personal life.
“I got a bunch of work going on at the house,” Mitchell said. “Just a bunch of stuff. I got some Jerry Springer (expletive) going on with the girlfriend and everything. All that’s been going on. Just a bunch of stuff is going on. Balancing everything.”
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 6, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
