Bryce Mitchell is taking matters into his own hands after suffering his first-career knockout.
Mitchell (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) was on the receiving end of a brutal right hand from Josh Emmett, who punched out his lights last month at UFC 296. The immediate aftermath was scary as “Thug Nasty” convulsed while lying on the canvas.
As a result, Mitchell has decided to stay away from any form of contact and focus on his personal life until mid-2024.
“I’m on my own concussion protocol,” Mitchell told ESPN. “I’m consulting with my coaches, too, and we’re basically just saying, ‘Don’t spar for six months or something.’ I’ve got to build this house and have this kid, but then I’m right into my next training camp after that. The good thing is that I don’t have to rush into it.”
Mitchell is at peace with the outcome and insists he’d take another short-notice opportunity if the pay was worth it. It’s everyone around him who made coping with the loss that much harder just by seeing their reactions.
“The worst part is dealing with everybody afterwards because they all thought I was dead,” Mitchell said. “It’s just terrible. Literally everybody that I knew was crying and just sad. On the bright side, that was the easiest fight for me. I’ve never had a fight where I’ve come out feeling so great.
“I just woke up in the ambulance and could barely remember what happened. There’s no pain. I’m telling you, it was that quick. There was no pain or anything, but everybody was crying, and they thought I was dead. I’m not exaggerating.”
Mitchell is not happy with how the medical staff handled the situation when he was knocked out. He thinks he should have been escorted out of the arena right away.
“When a fighter gets knocked out that bad – I was watching the fight back for film study. When I saw how bad the knockout was, I watched the whole thing, and I watched what they did with me afterward, and I was talking afterward, and I was shaking hands and stumbling around,” Mitchell said. “Dude, they (needed) to immediately escort me out of there. I really do think that needs to be a protocol but because from my standpoint, I can’t remember anything.
“I would much rather – say I get knocked out again. I’d much rather them escort me out of there as soon as I’m up on my feet, and I mean up under the armpits and not even talk to me or anything. Just get me out of there as quickly as possible. … They did escort me out eventually, but I don’t even think they should even talk to me in that cage because I was probably arguing with them telling them I’m fine and can walk, I don’t even know what I was saying. They (needed) to get me out of the cage. I’m glad that they did, and that is how they need to do it because, as fighters, they can stumble and fall and hurt their head even worse.”
