Bryce Mitchell doesn’t think beating Ilia Topuria will do much for his standing in the UFC featherweight division.
Mitchell (15-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) faces Topuria (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on the main card of UFC 282 on Dec. 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Although Topuria is a fellow unbeaten rising star, Mitchell is disappointed to draw someone ranked a few spots below him. He expected a bigger opportunity after his dominant performance against Edson Barboza at UFC 272.
“He hits hard, and I think he’s pretty good on the ground, and it’s a good fight,” Mitchell said on “The Champ & The Tramp” podcast. “It’s gonna get me a paycheck, and that’s great, I’m really happy, but is it gonna move me up in the ranks? No. I just beat Edson Barboza, and nobody gives a sh*t. When I beat this guy, nobody is gonna give a sh*t.”
Mitchell was scheduled to face top-10 featherweight Movsar Evloev (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 214 on Nov. 5, but the bout was scrapped after Evloev withdrew due to injury.
Disappointed, Mitchell isn’t buying that Evloev was that hurt.
“He was just talking a lot of sh*t,” Mitchell said. “He wasn’t hurt. He wants to act like he’s hurt. I was more hurt than he was. I just didn’t b*tch about it on Instagram. He wants to say he tore his ACL or whatever. The dude’s walking around. He’s fine. I’m not saying he’s a bad fighter. He’s a great fighter. Maybe he’d whoop my ass, I don’t know.
“We won’t know now because he’s too scared to even show up. But when somebody talks all that sh*t about you, and it’s like, ‘OK, let’s go.’ And then they pull out last minute, it’s kind of sh*tty. Like I said, I don’t hate the guy. I think he’s a good fighter. I still think I’d beat his ass, and I think he was scared to show up. I don’t think he’s hurt. I think I was more hurt than he was.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 282.
