LAS VEGAS – Kron Gracie enters his UFC 310 matchup against Bryce Mitchell with a renewed mindset.
After taking more than a year away from competition following his unanimous decision loss to Charles Jourdain at UFC 288, where he was criticized for butt scooting and a lack of engagement, Gracie (5-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) returns to action on Saturday for a featherweight matchup with Mitchell (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) at T-Mobile Arena (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, Hulu, ESPN+).
Gracie has come to terms with the ugly effort against Jourdain and said he’s cautioned himself from avoiding the mistakes that led to that result.
“My last performance with Jourdain was kind of my worst performance ever because I tried to listen to the jiu-jitsu world and a lot of the people around me that were telling me to just focus on jiu-jitsu and don’t punch,” Gracie told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 310 media day. “Obviously I made a quick understanding that was not the way to go. All of my fights in Japan and before that – you kind of have to mix it up a little bit. I went into that fight with one bullet in my gun and still didn’t get my ass whooped, still didn’t get finished. So I’m looking to make a good performance and fight the best way possible.”
Gracie weighs in on Mitchell
If there’s anyone who could give Gracie the chance to shine, it could be Mitchell. The ranked 145-pound contender is a strong grappler, as well, so Gracie relishes the idea of going to the floor.
Gracie is keeping an open mind going into fight night, however, and will be ready if it stays on the feet for all 15 minutes.
“He looks like he has good skills,” Gracie said. “From what I can see, he’s always trying to take it to the ground. Ge’s a good grappler. It’s always interesting to see what happens when I get in there with somebody, because so far, people generally fight me a lot different than they fight in their videos. You never know how someone is going to prepare, if he’s going to come at me or if he’s going to run away from me. Those things we will see on the day of the fight, but yeah, it’s possible it’s just a kickboxing match. Personally I’m just trying to fight wherever the fight is best for me, and trying to win whether it’s on the ground or the feet.”
UFC 310 a new beginning?
With just two fights on his record since February 2019, Gracie hopes UFC 310 marks the start of something. He wants to build some momentum in his career and said he is keen to fight “as much as possible” going forward.
Although Gracie is a reserved personality who prefers to keep to himself, he said he is open to the idea of coming out of his shell and being a bigger promotional piece for UFC going forward.
“There is some mystery because I don’t really post every day and let people know what I’m doing because there’s nothing really to say,” Gracie said. “I’ve been kind of working on my life and doing things, and I’m focused on training and not always trying to promote it. But I’m not against it, too, if someone wants to promote it. I would be open to that. I think I just always have bigger priorities than to talk about what’s going on, but we’ll see in the future.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
