There’s a new kid on the block and he has already made quite a splash in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Searcy fighter Bryce Mitchell has exploded onto the UFC scene and is hoping 2021 is the year that propels him towards a crack at the championship.
The 26-year-old Arkansas boy is currently ranked number 13 in the Ultimate Fighter Championships featherweight division. Many with a keen eye for the sport have tipped him to climb the ladder quickly in the coming months. Can he fulfil his potential and put Arkansas on the MMA map?
We put Thug Nasty’s career under the microscope.
“Bryce Mitchell” by UFC is licensed under CC BY 3.0
For those who haven’t heard of Mitchell – where have you been – he’s a talented MMA fighter from Searcy and represents the motto of his home town well. Competing with pride, making progress in every fight and having the potential to go all the way. He has a massive fanbase in the area and sports fans across America are beginning to realise what all the fuss is about.
Bryce boasts a perfect professional MMA record of 14 wins from as many outings. Undefeated to date, he has bagged nine of his previous victories inside the distance, winning by submission with the other five coming on the judges’ scorecards. His CV suggests he may not have the one-punch knockout power of some of the division’s big hitters, but he does have the intelligence, ring craft and speed to get opponents out of there quickly.
Despite being a relative newcomer to the UFC promotion Mitchell has already picked up a few impressive awards. He bagged his first Performance of the Night gong when beating Matt Sayles and was named Fight of the Night after dispatching Bobby Moffett. In the UFC 2019 honours list, they called up Mitchell as the winner of their Submission of the Year prize after taking out Sayles in style.
Due to his exciting style, fitness, and desire to fight the best, Mitchell is fast becoming a fans favourite in MMA. He burst onto the scene when appearing in The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated TV series. He beat Tyler Diamond by a majority decision in the gripping finale of that series, his efforts catching the eye of promoters in the UFC.
The former fighter soon made the switch from competing on cards in V3 Fights to stepping up to the plate and appearing on the biggest MMA promotion of them all – the Ultimate Fighting Championship, home of the sport’s biggest stars, including Conor McGregor. Such a leap in standard may have unsettled some, but Bryce seemed unfazed and immediately got to work.
He beat Bobby Moffett by unanimous decision in his debut on UFC Fight Night in March 2019. Mitchell was the standout performer that night in Nashville, stealing the limelight from the programme’s big names to win Fight of the Night. What a way to signal your arrival on the UFC scene and silence any doubters who thought he didn’t belong in the VIP section.
“Bryce Mitchell” by UFC is licensed under CC BY 3.0
Having banished the nerves with a stunning debut win in UFC which was viewed by a massive global audience and received the recognition the fighter’s hard work and training deserved, Bryce was desperate to build on his early success. He wanted to show it was much more than beginners’ luck. He wanted to prove himself as a genuine contender in the UFC rankings.
Mitchell did just that in his second appearance when scoring a submission win over Matt Sayles on UFC on ESPN featuring Overeem vs Rozenstruik. That December 2019 victory came in the opening round over a capable opponent in Washington and immediately set tongues wagging in the stands. Sayles missed weight that evening but it made no difference to Mitchel who put on a show to grab an early win and scoop Performance of the Night.
Since that sole submission win on UFC, Bryce has appeared twice, scoring a decision victory over Charles Rosa on UFC 249 last year in Florida. He was last seen in action beating Andre Fill by decision on UFC Fight Night: Hall vs Silva in October to continue his unbeaten run. Keep your eye out for this guy fight fans.