Bryce Mitchell is adamant he’d put on a much better showing if he ever gets to run things back with Ilia Topuria.
Mitchell (16-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was dominated in a submission loss to Topuria last December at UFC 282. He later revealed that he was not 100 percent healthy. The loss to Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) marked Mitchell’s first-career setback.
Mitchell said he battled Topuria with the flu and would love to get that loss back. Topuria challenges featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 on Feb. 17, and although Mitchell thinks Volkanovski wins, he’d rather fight Topuria for the belt once he gets there.
“I want that one all day, because that was my worst performance of all time,” Mitchell told Michael Bisping in an interview. “Even my backyard fights, I’ve never had a fight that bad. I’ve never fought that bad, I’ve never folded like that, I’ve never been able to not breathe and not move like that and, man, it just makes me mad. I know I could do better, but I don’t think people realize how much better I could do than that.”
After losing to Topuria, Mitchell rebounded with a decision win over Dan Ige this past September. He steps in on 10 days’ notice against Josh Emmett in Saturday’s UFC 296 featured prelim, an opportunity he called a blessing.
Those dubbing his post-fight remarks after losing to Topuria as an excuse only motivate Mitchell.
“It gives me that fuel, and I feel like I’ve been living a righteous life, and I’ve been working, and I deserve to perform better than I did that night,” Mitchell said. “I feel I’m going to get to vindicate myself.”
UFC 296 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
