UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell pulled out of a scheduled Karate Combat matchup after the promotion allegedly refused to remove edited images of him, despite multiple requests.
The Arkansas native detailed his frustrations during an appearance on Jake Shields’ Podcast, explaining that the organization digitally altered his appearance in promotional materials and ignored his repeated requests for changes.
Mitchell explained that Karate Combat posted promotional photos where they had digitally altered his ears, removing the natural cauliflower ear damage that comes from years of grappling.
“They took a picture of me and they changed my ears and I didn’t like it because yeah, you can make fun of my ears or whatever, but I like them the way they are and I’ve earned them,” Mitchell said. “They’re my ears. And don’t do a CGI Photoshop of my ears.”
The UFC star also suggested that the promotion may have altered his skin tone, making it appear as though they had applied makeup to his face in the images.
“I think it looked a little funky for sure,” Mitchell stated, adding that beyond the aesthetic concerns, the issue became a matter of principle.
What made the situation particularly frustrating for Mitchell was that he made multiple attempts to resolve the issue before withdrawing from the match. He first raised the concern in a group text with people who run the show, requesting they use a real photo of him instead.
When that didn’t work, he contacted another group of higher-ups the next day with the same request. For his third attempt, Mitchell got on a video call with what he described as “the main dude” and directly asked for the photo to be changed.
“I said, ‘Bro, could you change that picture of my ears? Just put a picture of me up there.’ Like I’ve never had anybody photoshop my ears out of photo. It was kind of driving me nuts, you know, just at this point kind of like an integrity thing,” Mitchell explained. “Like put a real photo of me up there.”
When the promotion still failed to make the changes after his third request, Mitchell decided to withdraw from the matchup entirely. “They didn’t do it after the third time asking. So I said, ‘They’re g*ying me out. I’m out,'” he said, using his characteristic blunt language.
During the podcast, Shield stated that he later received a call from someone at Karate Combat attempting to get Mitchell back on the card.
Shields recounted the conversation on the podcast, saying he told the representative, “Bro, you queered him out. Why did you queer Bryce out?” The Karate Combat representative reportedly offered to fire the staff members responsible for the photos, but Mitchell had already made up his mind.
Mitchell anticipated criticism for his decision, acknowledging that some might call him a diva for pulling out over what seemed like a minor issue. However, he stood firm on his position.
“They’re going to say, ‘Oh, he’s like Madonna or whatever, being a diva.’ Let me tell you, they took a picture of me and they changed my ears,” he said. “I’m not mad at any of these people. I could give a s**t less. I don’t give a f**k. But it was an issue of like they made a point to not listen to me.”
For Mitchell, the photoshopped images represented an issue of authenticity and respect. Cauliflower ear is a badge of honor among wrestlers and grapplers, earned through years of hard training and competition. By digitally removing it, Mitchell felt the promotion was misrepresenting who he is.
“I like them the way they are and I’ve earned them,” he emphasized.
Mitchell also made it clear that after asking three separate times through different channels and being ignored each time, the situation became about holding his ground on a matter of principle.
“I had to hold my ground. I felt like something queer was going on. I said, ‘Nope, I’m out,'” Mitchell stated.
