Bryce Mitchell suffered his first career defeat against Ilia Tuporia at UFC 282. Mitchell had great moments in the fight while Tuporia was very eager to finish the bout. There were certain spots during the contest when Bryce could not capitalize on a few mistakes from Tuporia. It led to his heartbreaking loss in the second round.
Tuporia hits with a great amount of power behind his punches. One of his strikes caught Mitchell in round 2 and dropped Thug Nasty. The sequence was too brutal for Mitchell to recover and the Georgian-Spanish fighter submitted him with an arm-triangle choke. A battered and bloodied Mitchell was understandably distraught after such a brutal loss in the opening bout of a big PPV.
Each fighter goes through the pains of losing their first bout in their own unique way. Although it is never easy to cope with the feeling of a loss, it becomes even harder when it takes place at the biggest stage possible. Mitchell clearly did not have the best response to it. In a backstage video after the loss, emotions were clearly running high and Bryce expressed his wish to retire.
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 💪🏾 https://t.co/4F0Ib4fvLc
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) December 20, 2022
“I’m just in so much pain that I just don’t think it’s worth it to keep going. So I wanna stop with MMA and I wanna take every bit of focus that I spent every single day on MMA. I wanna put it into something else. Everything is meant to be and I’m just gonna move on with my life and take all the energy that I’ve spent doing MMA, I’m gonna put it into something else. And I think I’m gonna be extremely successful,” added the 28-year-old.
UFC champ Aljamain Sterling wants Bryce Mitchell to continue his MMA career
Although he may want to retire, Bryce Mitchell is still just 28 and has a lot more to give. UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling is certainly one of Bryce’s well-wishers and wants to see the Arkansas native back on his feet. In a tweet to show support, Aljo spoke about the dangers and uncertainties of the sport. Sterling does not want Mitchell to give up just after one loss.
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 💪🏾 https://t.co/4F0Ib4fvLc
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) December 20, 2022
If anybody understands what it is like to lose their undefeated record in the UFC, it is Aljamain. The Funk Master was also undefeated when he joined the UFC. But, on his way to the championship opportunity, Aljo lost 3 fights. It included the head-kick KO loss against Marlon Moraes. However, Sterling bounced back and he is the reigning UFC 135lbs champ now!
So there is every chance that Bryce Mitchell replicates the same. Mitchell’s ground game is immense and it will benefit him in the long run. He also added after the loss that he was having a bout with the flu ahead of the Ilia Tuporia fight. So it is clear that he was not at his 100% in the fight. However, Mitchell was overwhelmed by his emotions after UFC 282 and may not retire after all!