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#2 UFC Featherweight Division: Andre Fili vs. Bryce Mitchell
Right now, these two UFC Featherweights are unranked, but that could almost certainly change after this weekend – particularly if Mitchell picks up a win. Thug Nasty was once considered a joke fighter, purely because of a horrific accident in 2018 that saw him tear his scrotum with a power drill.
However, he’s proven at this stage that his skills in the Octagon are no laughing matter. 13-0 in MMA, Mitchell is now 4-0 in the UFC, and last December, he was able to pull off the UFC’s second ‘twister’ submission to tap out Matt Sayles. A ground specialist, the win was Mitchell’s ninth by submission and by far his most impressive to date.
Fili knows all about being a hot prospect in the UFC. Touchy debuted back in 2013 and took out Jeremy Larsen in violent fashion, garnering a ton of hype in the process. However, since then, he’s only been able to put together a record of 9-6 in the UFC, which isn’t bad but hasn’t ever allowed him to rise into title contention.
Essentially, Fili is an excellent offensive fighter in all areas. He’s capable of knocking his opponents out, but he’s not bad on the ground either and has scrambled with the best the division has to offer – including the likes of Dennis Bermudez and Hacran Dias.
In this fight, he’d clearly be better off looking to keep things standing. Mitchell is very untested on the feet, and we don’t know all that much about his chin, his striking power, nor his ability to avoid gassing out if he can’t get a foe down.
Fili, meanwhile, is an excellent kickboxer who’s slowly improved over the years. His win over Sheymon Moraes, for instance, was arguably the best of his UFC career. And he did well against the dangerous Sodiq Yussuf, too. He’ll also enjoy a 4” reach advantage over Mitchell – and so if he can keep him at the end of his strikes, he could come out on top.
However, I’m personally leaning towards Thug Nasty in this one. He doesn’t have an extensive wrestling background per se, but he’s always been able to get his opponents down thus far into his UFC career. And while Fili can scramble, his takedown defense has never been all that great, and his willingness to go wherever the fight takes him is worrying.
Given Touchy has already lost twice by tap-out in the UFC before – once to a free-flowing submission artist similar to Mitchell in the form of Godofredo Pepey – I just don’t like his chances if this one hits the mat. I figure it will do at some point, and that’s where Mitchell will get the tap-out win.
The Pick: Mitchell via second-round submission
