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This past weekend at UFC 272, featherweight prospect Bryce Mitchell picked up the biggest win of his career to date by comfortably outpointing dangerous veteran Edson Barboza.
Bryce Mitchell is now 6-0 in the UFC and is very much entrenched in the featherweight division’s top ten, so who should be next in line for him?
Few fighters will want to face ‘Thug Nasty’ after he dealt with Barboza so impressively. Thankfully, his division is stacked, meaning there certainly isn’t a lack of options for him.
With that in mind, here are five potential opponents for Bryce Mitchell following his win at UFC 272.
#5. Bryce Mitchell vs. Josh Emmett
Following his win over Edson Barboza, it probably only makes sense for Bryce Mitchell to fight an opponent currently ranked above him. In that sense, No.6-ranked Josh Emmett sounds like a perfect match.
‘The Fighting Falmer’ is currently riding a four-fight win streak. He most notably overcame the notoriously durable Dan Ige via unanimous decision back in December. Prior to that, he’d beaten Shane Burgos, Mirsad Bektic and Michael Johnson, all in impressive fashion.
So how would he match up with Mitchell? Like his recent fight with Barboza, a clash between ‘Thug Nasty’ and Emmett would be largely seen as a grappler vs. striker bout. Mitchell would look to ground the Team Alpha Male fighter while Emmett would hunt for a knockout.
Unlike Barboza, though, Emmett has a strong wrestling background in his own right. This means it might be tricky for Mitchell to overpower him as he did to the Brazilian this weekend.
Could ‘Thug Nasty’ stand up to the one-shot knockout power of ‘The Fighting Falmer’? It’s a very fair question to ask, particularly as we’ve yet to see him really hurt during a fight in the octagon.
If he could beat Emmett, though – something that only Jeremy Stephens has been able to do at 145lbs, and that win came under semi-controversial circumstances – then there’d be absolutely no doubting Mitchell’s title credentials.
This would be a high-risk, high-reward fight for ‘Thug Nasty’, but it’d definitely be worth pursuing from the UFC’s point of view.
#4. Bryce Mitchell vs. Calvin Kattar
Another high-risk, high-reward bout for Bryce Mitchell would see him face off against Calvin Kattar, who is currently ranked No.5 in the UFC’s featherweight division. In this instance, there’s no doubt that ‘Thug Nasty’ would be taking a substantial step up in competition.
Kattar’s only recent losses have come to Max Holloway and Zabit Magomedsharipov. Along the way, he’s picked up impressive wins over the likes of Dan Ige, Ricardo Lamas and, most recently, Giga Chikadze.
‘The Boston Finisher’ not only carries serious knockout power in his hands, but he’s also one of the better boxers in the division. His sense of timing, excellent footwork and deep gas tank means it’s hard to count him out of any fight.
Kattar is also remarkably durable, as he took an insane amount of punishment against Holloway and survived. In fact, he’s never been stopped by strikes during his 28-fight career.
However, Mitchell is unlikely to look to outstrike him. Instead, he’d look to drag him to the ground and either outwork him for a decision or submit him and both options could be possible.
Interestingly, Kattar has not really fought a true grappler since his loss to Magomedsharipov. While the Dagestani outworked him on the feet too, the threat of the takedown largely allowed that to happen.
This would definitely be a difficult fight for ‘Thug Nasty’, but if he could ground Kattar, it’d be a winnable bout too.
#3. Bryce Mitchell vs. Yair Rodriguez
While it’s arguable that his current No.3 ranking is perhaps inflated due to his knockout win over Chan Sung Jung in 2018, it’s safe to say that Yair Rodriguez is one of the best featherweights in the UFC.
‘El Pantera’ not only possesses a flashy striking attack, but his fundamentals are also excellent. He’s also a very underrated grappler with solid takedowns and takedown defense.
However, his loss to Frankie Edgar in 2017 showed that he can be outworked by a fighter who possesses a tight ground game. This that might make him a beatable opponent for a prospect like Bryce Mitchell.
We saw Mitchell wear down another flashy striker in Edson Barboza by using his excellent ground skills this weekend. Could ‘Thug Nasty’ do the same to Rodriguez? If he could take ‘El Pantera’ to the ground early, then it’d definitely be possible.
This fight would obviously be a big step up for Mitchell. If he could beat Rodriguez, then he’d be very close to a title fight – meaning that it’d be well worth him pursuing if possible.
#2. Bryce Mitchell vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov
Right now, Bryce Mitchell is probably focused on pursuing a fight with one of the men ranked above him in the UFC’s featherweight division. However, while he is currently unranked due to his inactivity, Zabit Magomedsharipov would still make a great opponent for ‘Thug Nasty’.
Prior to his absence due to health issues, Zabit had reeled off six straight wins in the octagon, most notably defeating Calvin Kattar and Jeremy Stephens.
Given that he was close to securing a title shot, it seems unlikely that he’d want to fight someone lower on the ladder upon his return. This means that a bout with Mitchell could make plenty of sense.
More to the point, given Magomedsharipov’s penchant for non-stop attacking – both on the feet and on the ground – he’d also make an excellent opponent for Mitchell. The fight would definitely be able to test ‘Thug Nasty’ in his strongest area.
This would be a fight that could easily headline one of the UFC’s Fight Night events. It’d make a lot of sense if the promotion could make it for the near future.
#1. Bryce Mitchell vs. Brian Ortega
If Bryce Mitchell is looking to claim a shot at the UFC featherweight title any time soon, the quickest route to that would be to knock off the man who last challenged for the gold – Brian Ortega.
Naturally, this would be a fiendishly tricky bout for ‘Thug Nasty’. Ortega has more experience and, stylistically, ‘T-City’ matches horribly with the Arkansas native.
Mitchell has shown himself to be an excellent grappler thus far into his UFC career – most notably using a twister to submit Matt Sayles. However, it’s arguable that Ortega is on another level entirely on the mat. ‘T-City’ has four tapout wins to his name in the octagon.
More recently, Ortega has also worked heavily on his striking. He was not only able to knock out longtime veteran Frankie Edgar, but he also outpointed Chan Sung Jung on the feet in 2020.
However, it’s perhaps safe to argue exactly how healthy ‘T-City’ might be following his wild title bout with Alexander Volkanovski. In that sense, this could be the perfect time for a prospect like Mitchell to take him on.
Mitchell would undoubtedly be the underdog in this fight. However, if he could find a way to win, the possibilities would be endless. Given that he’d also have little to lose with a defeat, this would definitely be a bout worth pursuing for him.
