Aljamain Sterling offers Bryce Mitchell beautiful words of encouragement in light of recent video contemplating retirement

UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling recently showed his support for Bryce Mitchell following his loss at UFC 282.

Bryce Mitchell locked horns with Ilia Topuria in a featherweight matchup at UFC 282. The fight was a one-sided affair, with Topuria ultimately submitting 'Thug Nasty' via an arm-triangle choke at the 3:10 mark of the second round.

Following Mitchell's loss against 'El Matador,' a video surfaced online where the 28-year-old could be seen getting emotional and contemplating his retirement from MMA.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Aljamain Sterling extended words of encouragement to Bryce Mitchell. 'The Funk Master' wished 'Thug Nasty' a speedy recovery and expressed his desire to see the 28-year-old in the octagon again, writing:

"It’s a painful sport we “play” in. Sometimes we’re the hammer and sometimes we are the nail. Heal up, relax, reflect, and hopefully we see you again in the octagon, Bryce 💪🏾"

You can check out Sterling's Twitter post supporting Mitchell below:

'Thug Nasty' was on a remarkable six-bout winning streak in the UFC before being beaten by Ilia Topuria at UFC 282. This match also represents the second loss of his professional MMA career, which now stands at 15 victories and two defeats.

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Aljamain Sterling claimed Sean O'Malley is being given special consideration to get ready for a title fight

On a recent episode of his podcast, Aljamain Sterling, the reigning bantamweight champion, accused Sean O'Malley of receiving preferential treatment from the UFC.

Sterling believes that the promotion is intentionally delaying their title fight in order to give O'Malley more time to improve his grappling skills so that he can be better prepared to face the champion. Speaking on the matter, the 33-year-old said:

"It's just funny, like, for me to have the meeting with the [UFC] staff, and for them to pretty much say, like, 'Yeah, we know you're gonna kill this guy, bro.' Pretty much not in those same exact words, but that's what they said, like, 'We know your grappling is a lot better, and he [O'Malley] needs time to pretty much close the gap."

He further added:

"I'm like, 'So, you're just saying without saying -- You want him to win. And you're saying what you're saying without saying it that I will pretty much derail him or say you would take him down and dry-h**p him all day."

Check out Aljamain Sterling's discussion on the topic below (50:37):