Unhealthy Bryce Mitchell took Ilia Topuria fight to escape living with just $2k in bank account
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Bryce Mitchell reveals taking Ilia Topuria's fight when he was un healthy. Image Courtesy (Yahoo News, Fansided)
2022 ended on a bad note for Bryce Mitchell. The 28-year-old fighter boasted a 15-match unbeaten run until he entered the Octagon at UFC 282. Ilia Topuria dominated and destroyed a flu-stricken Bryce Mitchell and ended Bryce’s unbeaten run.
Bryce was scheduled to fight Movsar Evloev in November of last year but unfortunately, the fight never materialized as Movsar had to pull out of the match due to an injury. Then he was pitched to face Ilia Topuria at UFC 282 and suffered his first professional loss. Recently Bryce revealed in an interview that his poor financial situation forced him to face Ilia Topuria despite being sick.
Bryce said, “I had a couple thousand bucks in my bank account and they (UFC) told me that, ‘If you don’t take this fight, we’re not finding you one until February ‘…They said they’re booked. So, it’s like you can live off a couple thousand bucks in your bank or you can f—king fight Dec. 10 and if not, f—k off until February.”
Bryce Mitchell acknowledged that he regrets his decision and if his financial situation was better he would have never put his unbeaten streak on the line. Mitchell wants to come back much stronger and restart his career on a clean slate.
Bryce Mitchell contemplated retiring after his loss at UFC 282
Sometimes a few losses are very tough to get over. Especially in combat sports where the damage is much more than just physical, leaving fighters emotionally and psychologically crippled for months. Bryce Mitchell has to go through such mental turmoil after his loss at UFC 282.
In backstage footage released by UFC, Bryce Mitchell was seen emotionally broken as he was contemplating his retirement from the sport. He was recorded saying, “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 don’t think it’s worth it to keep going. I want to stop with MMA and I want to take every little bit of focus that I spent every day on MMA, I want to put it into something else.”
At UFC 282, Topuria faced Bryce Mitchell and opened the card. The majority of their bout was dominated by Topuria as he managed to counter all of Bryce’s offense before making him tap to a triangle choke. However, on the brighter side, Bryce Mitchell has managed to get over this devastating loss and didn’t retire from the sport.
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Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)