Ilia Topuria put the featherweight division Bryce Mitchell on high alert earlier tonight (Sat., Dec. 10, 2022) at UFC 282 live on ESPN+.
Bryce Mitchell : UFC 282 | Ilia Topuria | Highlights
Bryce Andrew Mitchell is an American professional mixed martial artist.
Bryce Mitchell | |
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Born | Bryce Andrew Mitchell October 4, 1994 Texarkana, Arkansas, U.S. |
Other names | Thug Nasty |
Nationality | American |
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
Weight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10 st 5 lb) |
Division | Featherweight (145 lbs) |
He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Mitchell appeared in the reality television series The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated. As of March 7, 2022, he is #9 in the UFC featherweight rankings.
After racking up an undefeated professional MMA record of 9–0, Mitchell was chosen to The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated Featherweight tournament.
Bryce Mitchell UFC 282
Ilia Topuria delivered on his promise to turn heads with his performance at UFC 282. The featherweight power puncher submitted grappling specialist Bryce Mitchell to snap his undefeated record.
‘El Matador’ was the aggressor from the opening sequence of the fight and made his intentions of chasing the finish quite clear.
Mitchell was backtracking in an attempt to avoid heavy punches with Topuria hot on his heels.
Ilia Topuria scored a huge knockdown in the second round with an overhand right and jumped in for a guillotine attempt.
Bryce Mitchell scrambled his way back to the feet only for ‘El Matador’ to land a vicious uppercut and a bunch of follow-up shots that floored ‘Thug Nasty’.
Instead of wasting his time with ground-and-pound, the 25-year-old transitioned to an arm triangle attempt, forcing the tap out of his opponent at the 3:10 mark of the second round.
With this statement-making performance, Ilia Topuria is ready to catapult into the featherweight title contention conversation and the fiery Spaniard extended his undefeated record to 13-0.
After only five fights under the UFC banner, Topuria has emerged as a chronic threat to fellow 145-pound contenders.
Four of his five victories in the UFC have come by means of a finish, making him an exciting prospect and surging contender.
Ilia Topuria
Topuria was in control of this fight from the get-go. On the feet, the undefeated contender scored heavy leg kicks and power punches from range.
Mitchell was too tough for his own good and took a lot of damage trying to get inside for his wrestling.
Eventually, Topuria was able to switch gears and use his own grappling skills to grab a hold of an arm-triangle choke along the cage and forced “Thug Nasty” to tap for the first time in his career.
Topuria, 25, pushes his UFC record to 5-0 with his performance and improves to 13-0 in his overall career.
Many people thought Topuria was going to be able to get a win over Mitchell and raise his featherweight stock even more, but few believed “El Matador” would look this good against someone with real experience. This should land Topuria in the top 10 next week.
No.9-ranked UFC featherweight contender Bryce Mitchell is a proud ‘flat earther’. This means that he adheres to the idea that the earth is flat.
‘Thug Nasty’ has subscribed to the notion that the Earth is a flat disk and that all the evidence to the contrary is an elaborate hoax perpetrated by various governments. His belief is so strong that he has even challenged UFC color commentator Joe Rogan to debate him on the subject.
Bryce Mitchell Highlights
Ilia Topuria said he would submit Bryce Mitchell at UFC 282 if given the opportunity, and that’s exactly what happened.
In a battle of unbeaten featherweights, Topuria (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) was the one who kept his flawless record in tact after he locked in an arm-triangle choke that forced Mitchell (16-0 MMA, 6-1 UFC) to tap out at the 3:10 mark of Round 2 inside T-Mobile Arena.
https://youtu.be/IIcguCTaoHE
Topuria landed a hard leg kick to start the first round that sent a message. Mitchell tried multiple takedowns through the round, but they were largely defended, and he was forced to strike.
He looked comfortable there but was clearly weary of Topuria’s power as he ate the harder shots.
Mitchell got a takedown and top position late in the round, but with less than minute to work, he wasn’t able to make anything meaningful happen.
Topuria came out confident with his striking pressure to begin the second round. Mitchell began to get desperate with his takedown attempts, which made them easier for Topuria to stuff. Topuria landed a hard uppercut followed by a right hand that stunned Mitchell and dropped him to the canvas, but the American worked his way up.
Topuria landed a nice judo throw moments after, then took control from top. He advanced into position for the arm-triangle choke, forcing the submission.
“I had to submit him, because I got the opportunity,” Topuria said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “I had to take advantage.”