Bryce Mitchell finished up 2022 suffering the first loss of his pro mixed martial arts (MMA) career. Mitchell was defeated by Ilia Topuria at UFC 282 via second round submission. It brought Mitchell’s perfect record down to 15-1. It was quite a disappointing loss for Mitchell, who had been on quite the hot streak in the UFC’s 145-pound division.
Mitchell owns wins over the likes of Andre Fili, Edson Barboza, and more. However, soon after the loss to Topuria, Mitchell has revealed that he wasn’t at full health upon accepting the fight. He was dealing with a flu but refused to pull out of the contest despite the fact.
Bryce Mitchell Clarifies Financial Situation
Speaking to ESPN in a recent interview, Mitchell was asked about his decision to take the fight despite being ill. He was asked if his financial situation played a role in the decision. Mitchell admits that it did, but it’s not the full reason that he accepted the fight.
“Well, I didn’t have to. I wasn’t dying for the money. I could have made it, I would have not starved to death, for sure I wasn’t going to starve to death, and all my bills would have been paid. But then I just kept thinking ‘What if they tell me a fight in February’ and it don’t happen in February? It was uncertainty. I didn’t know what was going to happen if I didn’t take the fight.
“In my head I told myself I’m going to win anyways, so I just took the fight even though I was not in 100 percent condition. I took the fight. Here’s the thing, with my money too, I invest it, it’s not like I just waste it. But I choose to invest it, and I knew that I would only have a little bit left and I was expecting that fight to come around – I was expecting to win money too. So I don’t know. I’m not really complaining about the financial side of it.
“To say it wasn’t a factor, that would be a lie. I’m not complaining about my financial situation, I’m very happy. I try to invest my money, especially into real estate,” Mitchell said. “I’m investing in things that I think I can make money with, not things like a freaking Ferrari that will probably go down in value, or a gold watch that might go down in value. So I’m not mad about my financial situation.
“I’m very happy, very blessed, but I was a little bit worried about not having money until February. So I took the fight when I probably shouldn’t have. And that was one factor making me want to take it, was the money. But it wasn’t the only factor. I also didn’t want to be a pu**y. I wanted to show that I’m not a b*tch and that I showed up and fought when I said that I would, even though I was hurting.
“I wish I wasn’t sick dude, because I wanted to fight, I wanted to. I really wanted to but I was not in the physical capacity to do it. At least to fight well. I had the capacity to get my ass kicked, but I didn’t have the capacity to kick nobody’s ass that night. I was at half capacity or whatever it was.
Mitchell briefly teased retirement after suffering the loss, however, he appears to have walked those comments back a bit since. At just 28-years-old it’s difficult to believe Mitchell would walk away from the sport with just one loss on his record. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back upon his next Octagon appearance, and who he’ll be paired up with.
