Bryce Mitchell looks as if he may have a dance partner for his first UFC main event.
Following Movsar Evloev’s withdrawal from UFC Fight Night 214, Mitchell was left without an opponent in his first headline bout in the promotion. It seems he found one today, answering prospect Ilia Topuria’s recent callout – himself the victim of another scrapped bout.
“I see I’m getting called out by Ilia Topuria now to fight,” Mitchell said on social media. “He wants to go on Twitter and post a picture of his abs, his little perfect 8-pack or whatever. Hey, buddy – you see (my stomach)? You see that, buddy? I’ve been eating peanut butter cookies for three weeks now and I’ll still get off the couch and whoop your ass, buddy. I don’t give a damn about them abs. Let’s go, buddy. I’m tired of you putting my name in your mouth. (You) shouldn’t have done it.
Mitchell, sitting on the edge of contention in the featherweight division, is on a five-fight win streak since entering the UFC from The Ultimate Fighter 27 and is undefeated in professional bouts. Topuria, himself undefeated at 12-0, has four wins in the promotion and most recently stopped Jai Herbert in the first round with a right hook.
The AllStar MMA roundup
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- UFC 281: Adesanya’s greater MMA experience will give him striking advantage against Pereira, says Sean Madden
- UFC Vegas 63: Chase Hooper no longer a kid among men as he climbs UFC featherweight ranks
The best of the rest
- Alexa Grasso prefers another UFC main event before title shot against Valentina Shevchenko’ – MMAFighting.com
- UFC champs pictured with Andrew Tate; Sterling defends disgraced misogynist – BloodyElbow.com
- Jorge Masvidal makes case for third UFC title shot: ‘Who doesn’t want to see me fight Leon?’ – BloodyElbow.com
- Lance Palmer wants to prove he’s ‘one of the best in the world’ after ending ‘tumultuous’ relationship with PFL – MMAFighting.com
- Oscar De La Hoya picks Jake Paul to KO Anderson Silva – MMAMania.com
The soapbox
Charles Oliveira arrives in Abu Dhabi:
Leon tells Jorge what’s up:
Wonderboy hangs out with Post Malone:
The Monkey King on not wanting to hurt people:
Paddy swerving Terrance McKinney:
Jake Matthews gets a fight booked:
Some interesting data on eye pokes in MMA:
The morning view
Dan Hooker previews his UFC 281 matchup:
Anatomy Of A Fighter drops the final episode of Prelude to UFC 280:
Dan Hardy breaks down the UFC 280 main event:
MMA On Point details the easiest roads for MMA stars:
Done deals
Monday
- None to note
On this day in MMA…
On the 17th of October, 1997, UFC 15: Collision Course took place in St. Louis, Mississippi.
This card was notable for several reasons, the most important of which was the introduction of a modern ruleset. Starting from this card headbutts, groin strikes, striking the back of the head, knees/kicks to a downed opponent, head stomps, hair pulling, and small joint manipulation were deemed illegal inside the Octagon.
Also of note was Maurice Smith’s leg kick TKO of Tank Abbott (one of the first inside the promotion), Randy Couture’s KO of Vitor Belfort, and Mark Kerr’s dominance as he won the heavyweight tournament.