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According to Bryce Mitchell, his devastating performance against Ilia Topuria was because he was suffering from the flu, and the elite prospect has now opened up on why he didn't pull out of the fight whilst he was dealing with an illness.
'El Matador' put on an all-time display on December 10 and showed the world exactly why he is one of the most feared athletes in the division. After dominating the striking, the Spanish-Georgian managed to lock up an arm-triangle choke submission on a man many believe to be one of the best grapplers at 145lbs.
During a recent interview, Bryce Mitchell revealed the truth behind him taking the Ilia Topuria fight despite knowing he wouldn't be able to perform at his best due to illness.
"We had been looking for months. It's not like, 'If you don't fight Topuria, we'll get you one next week.' It's like, I've f***ing been trying for months... [After three months the UFC called, saying] hey, we got you this guy named Movsar.
"I don't give a fu** what his name is, let's f***ing go. Oh, that fight, canceled. A month later, though, [the UFC say], 'Hey, Mitchell. If you wanna fight Topuria, you have to next month. If not, [it's not due] until February.' So I said fu** it, let's go in December... If I don't fight now, I'm living off of a couple of thousand bucks until February."
A mixture of struggles to find a matchup and financial trouble were the main reasons 'Thug Nasty' decided to go against his better judgment and take the fight against an extremely tough opponent while dealing with the flu.
Check out Mitchell's reasoning behind why the Ilia Topuria fight went ahead in the video below.
What's next for Bryce Mitchell?
Bryce Mitchell will likely return to the drawing board and aim to get back to winning ways next time out after losing his undefeated record in the UFC's final pay-per-view of 2022.
The incredibly skilled Arkansas native currently finds himself ranked just outside the top 10 in the weight class and will need an impressive showing in his next fight to begin moving towards the top end of the rankings.
Although it's unclear who he can fight next. Movsar Evloev, the man he was previously meant to fight prior to the fight cancelation—is a great challenge to see exactly where he belongs in the division.
