Thus far, his efforts have backed up his words and shown that Topuria has the potential to be a legitimate contender in the talent-rich 145-pound weight class. One of several Georgian fighters scaling the ranks in their respective weight classes at the moment, “El Matador” is unafraid to speak his mind or get into verbal sparring matches, as he did with Paddy Pimblett, who competes in the UFC 282 co-main event, earlier this year. Topuria is another ascending talent in the featherweight division - a perfect 12-0 for his career, with his last four victories coming inside the Octagon. While he’s had the opportunity to come into the fight without the lingering pains that were present heading into the Evloev contest, the assignment is no less daunting. “It gave me time to heal and them come back, train smarter, and not get hurt for this fight camp.” “It gave me a lot more time to keep training and heal up stuff that was hurting,” Mitchell said of the change in opponents and delay in his return. RELATED: Fighters On The Rise | Fight By Fight Preview Perhaps the most highly anticipated bout on this weekend’s fight card, the main card opener is actually a replacement booking, as Mitchell was initially slated to face another rising star in the 145-pound weight class, Movsar Evloev, in early November.īut a couple weeks prior to the contest, the undefeated Russian was forced to withdraw due to an unspecified injury, resulting in Mitchell’s return date getting pushed back five weeks and Topuria being penciled in across from him on the bout sheet. “If I was to fight myself from five years ago, five years ago me wouldn’t have a chance,” said Mitchell when asked about his continued progress ahead of Saturday’s clash with Topuria. He lost to eventual winner Brad Katona in the semifinals, but narrowly beat out Tyler Diamond in the season’s “bronze medal match” at the finale to earn his first UFC victory.Īfter garnering attention at the close of 2019 for successfully executing the second twister submission in UFC history, the Arkansas native’s stock really began taking off following wins over Charles Rosa and Andre Fili in 2020, the latter of which marked the first time Mitchell wore the camouflage shorts he’d always wanted into the Octagon.ĭespite being relegated to the sidelines for the whole of 2021, Mitchell returned earlier this year to collect his biggest victory yet - a unanimous decision win over Top 15 fixture Edson Barboza that highlighted his continued development and catapulted “Thug Nasty” into the Top 10 in the featherweight rankings. Mitchell entered the Ultimate Fighter house for Season 27 with a 9-0 record, coming off a good win over regional staple Jose “Chepe” Mariscal. So far, those steady gains and continual progress have been evident each successive time the former Ultimate Fighter standout has crossed the threshold into the UFC cage. I’m trying to be the best that I can be between every fight.” “I’m always trying to grow and get stronger, smarter, and even more flexible. “I try to build everything between fights, have fun with it,” Mitchell said on Thursday morning, resting in his hotel room just a couple days away from making his return to action. Brandon Royval.This weekend, Bryce Mitchell looks to make sure his name is part of the conversation just beyond that championship tier when next year begins as he steps into the Octagon opposite Ilia Topuria in the opening bout of Saturday’s UFC 282 pay-per-view main card. Colby Covington and Alexandre Pantoja vs. ![]() The event is headlined by a pair of title bouts, Leon Edwards vs. UFC 296 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Prior to his recent setbacks, Emmett (18-4) rattled off five consecutive victories over Calvin Kattar, Ige, Shane Burgos, Mirsad Bektic, and Michael Johnson. 12 ranked featherweight in the world.Įmmett, 38, looks to snap the first losing streak of his MMA career after suffering back-to-back losses to Yair Rodriguez and Ilia Topuria, the former of which was contested for the UFC interim featherweight title. ![]() ![]() Mitchell (16-1) is currently MMA Fighting’s No. A smothering grappler, “Thug Nasty” has won seven of his eight UFC appearances, defeating the likes of Edson Barboza, Andre Fili, Charles Rosa, and most recently Dan Ige. Mitchell, 29, now steps into the pay-per-view bout on less than two weeks’ notice. Chikadze posted a video on social media of the moment he injured himself. The UFC announced the switch Wednesday night following an initial report by X user MagicM_MMABets.Ĭhikadze was forced to withdraw from the bout earlier this week after suffering a torn groin in training. The Arkansas native has stepped in to replace an injured Giga Chikadze in a featherweight matchup against Josh Emmett on Dec. Bryce Mitchell is getting one last fight in before the end of the year.
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