Bryce Mitchell Reveals He Had The Flu Before UFC 282: ‘I Wish I Wouldn’t Have Even Took The Fight’

Bryce Mitchell Had The Flu Before Losing His First Loss Against Ilia Topuria At UFC 282.

Bryce Mitchell
Bryce Mitchell (Left and Right)(Images via Instagram @ThugNasty_UFC)

Bryce Mitchell believes the flu contributed to his loss against Ilia Topuria at UFC 282.

Despite putting up a valiant effort, Mitchell had his championship aspirations halted after losing his first fight against Topuria. The Arkansas native reacted to his UFC 282 loss on Twitter by saying:

“Hey, I just want to let ya’ll know I’m feeling just fine. I’m home, and I want to thank you for all of the love and support. I definitely gotta let you know that really wasn’t me out there. I had the flu the week before, and I thought I’d just tough it out. I didn’t feel good at all in there. That wasn’t myself. I trained a lot harder and could’ve performed a lot better…”

Topuria made a statement in the featherweight division by giving ‘Thug Nasty’ his first career loss. ‘El Matador’ has won all five of his UFC fights since debuting in October 2020. The official UFC rankings have not been updated, but the 25-year-old could end up in the top ten after beating currently number nine-ranked Mitchell.

Bryce Mitchell wishes he never accepted the fight against Ilia Topuria

Bryce Mitchell was supposed to fight Movsar Evloev in November before the Russian pulled out with an injury. Mitchell then accepted the fight against Ilia Topuria, who is currently ranked fourteen compared to Evloev at ten. During the same Twitter video, ‘Thug Nasty’ had this to say about accepting the fight against Topuria:

“You know, I went in there, stuff hurting and not up to 100%. Like I said, I had the flu. I wish I wouldn’t have even took the fight. I didn’t know it would mess me up that bad. I thought I would be able to hang in there for all three rounds because that’s what I trained for. I trained for my cardio to be there the whole time, but it wasn’t even there one bit of the time. I’ll come back stronger. I just hate going out on that one. I don’t like that, but I will be better. I’ll be alright. Thank yall.”

Mitchell joined the UFC in 2018 after competing on The Ultimate Fighter Season 27. His first six UFC fights ended in victories before losing at UFC 282. At 28, ‘Thug Nasty’ now has to overcome adversity from the mental effects of losing for the first time. 

Published on December 12, 2022 at 8:46 pm
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