- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,195,228
- Reaction score
- 59
Bryce Mitchell suffered his first career loss to Ilia Topuria.
Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) just got a taste of that when he was stopped by Justin Gaethje in their lightweight title fight at UFC Freedom 250.
Topuria was a massive favorite, but Gaethje (28-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) surprised him with his power and resilience, which lead to the Round 4 doctor's stoppage TKO. Mitchell recalls fighting Topuria while he was battling the flu, where he wound up getting submitted in Round 2 at UFC 282.
"I'm relating it to Ilia – that was me when I fought Ilia," Mitchell said on Tim Welch's podcast. "I had too much pride to back out of the fight, to say, 'Hey, I'm sick. I shouldn't be in here.' I was undefeated at that point, and so it was that pride thinking, 'Nah, this dude ain't going to beat me. I'm fine.'
"Second round, I knew I was toast. In the first round, I felt all right. But by the end of the first round, beginning of the second round, I knew I was toast, and that's when my pride made me fall. His pride made him fall when he thinks Justin Gaethje can't hurt him."
While Mitchell thinks Gaethje looked significantly bigger than Topuria, he still sees him doing well at lightweight.
"I think he would do better at 145, to be honest," Mitchell said of Topuria. "But I think he could easily stay at 155. You see he damn near beat Gaethje, and Gaethje's the best out there. I really think spiritually is what's going to determine whether he's going to come back or not. He's got all the tangibles and he's got the mentality. He's not a quitter."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Bryce Mitchell can relate to Ilia Topuria's loss: 'His pride made him fall'
Continue reading...
Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) just got a taste of that when he was stopped by Justin Gaethje in their lightweight title fight at UFC Freedom 250.
Topuria was a massive favorite, but Gaethje (28-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) surprised him with his power and resilience, which lead to the Round 4 doctor's stoppage TKO. Mitchell recalls fighting Topuria while he was battling the flu, where he wound up getting submitted in Round 2 at UFC 282.
"I'm relating it to Ilia – that was me when I fought Ilia," Mitchell said on Tim Welch's podcast. "I had too much pride to back out of the fight, to say, 'Hey, I'm sick. I shouldn't be in here.' I was undefeated at that point, and so it was that pride thinking, 'Nah, this dude ain't going to beat me. I'm fine.'
"Second round, I knew I was toast. In the first round, I felt all right. But by the end of the first round, beginning of the second round, I knew I was toast, and that's when my pride made me fall. His pride made him fall when he thinks Justin Gaethje can't hurt him."
While Mitchell thinks Gaethje looked significantly bigger than Topuria, he still sees him doing well at lightweight.
"I think he would do better at 145, to be honest," Mitchell said of Topuria. "But I think he could easily stay at 155. You see he damn near beat Gaethje, and Gaethje's the best out there. I really think spiritually is what's going to determine whether he's going to come back or not. He's got all the tangibles and he's got the mentality. He's not a quitter."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Bryce Mitchell can relate to Ilia Topuria's loss: 'His pride made him fall'
Continue reading...
