Both Topuria and Bryce Mitchell were undefeated heading into UFC 282. While Mitchell chanted prayers at Topuria, Topuria used eccentric methods of cutting weight and kept his head in the game.
When the buzzer sounded it was clear Mitchell was outclassed in the striking department.
After sufficiently rocking Mitchell with strikes, Topuria locked in a submission and quickly got the tap.
Bryce Mitchell thinks his sickness played a part in his defeat against Ilia Topuria at UFC 282.
Mitchell released a statement addressing his defeat at UFC 282:
“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…”
By handing Mitchell his first defeat in the featherweight category, Topuria made a statement. He has won each of his five UFC contests since making his debut in October 2020. After defeating Mitchell, the 25-year-old might move up to the top 10 in the official UFC rankings.
Movsar Evloev was scheduled to face Bryce Mitchell in November but had to withdraw due to an injury. Mitchell subsequently accepted the match up against Ilia Topuria.
Mitchell added:
“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.”
It’s a little bit ironic seeing Mitchell blame the flue for a loss – especially given his propensity to enjoy conspiracy theories. A while back Mitchell said the following about the pandemic:
https://twitter.com/thingsufc1/status/1601782817163472898?s=20&t=zTxEPxn58PZY1zASFIiAcg
“I blame the government. I really do. It’s usually who I blame for everything. I think the coronavirus was made by the government. I think the good government made the damn virus. I think that they infected the people on purpose to cause some type of chaos. There’s some people making good money and stuff.”
OOOOOOHHHHHH @Topuriailia somete al sometedor! #UFC282 pic.twitter.com/IaBgagseOa
— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) December 11, 2022
Bryce Mitchell competed on TUF Season 27 before joining the UFC in 2018. His MMA record now consists of 15 wins and 1 loss.