Losing to Ilia Topuria at UFC 282 was a tough pill to swallow for Bryce Mitchell.
Mitchell (16-0 MMA, 6-1 UFC) suffered his first-career setback when he was dropped and submitted by fellow unbeaten rising contender Topuria earlier this month. Although days after the fight Mitchell said he will come back stronger in a video posted to social media, those weren’t his immediate emotions.
Cameras for “UFC Journey,” an ESPN+ series that follows fighters closely in the immediate aftermath, caught a visibly upset Mitchell contemplating retirement while in his locker room.
“That’s why I’m just saying I should f*cking retire after that, dude, before I go any further and move on with my life,” Mitchell told his coaches. “… I’m gonna be done on that one, because I just don’t ever want to feel this much pain.”
Back at his hotel, Mitchell continued: “I’m just feeling, I guess regret, you know? I just know I could have done better. I’m just in so much pain that I just don’t think it’s worth it to keep going. I want to stop with MMA, and I want to take every bit of focus that I spent every single day on MMA, I want to put it into something else. Everything is meant to be, and I’m just going to move on with my life and take all the energy that I spent doing MMA, I’m going to put it into something else, and I think I’m going to be extremely successful.”
— ილია 🇬🇪 (@judobetter995) December 20, 2022
These candid moments from Mitchell are a poignant reminder of the emotional toll big losses can take on fighters.
Prior to losing to Topuria, Mitchell, 28, was coming off the biggest win of his career against Edson Barboza at UFC 272.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
