Bryce Mitchell couldn’t find the finish, but he did enough in the opening rounds of his bout against Tyler Diamond — including a nasty triangle — to hold on for a majority decision win.
A battle of TUF 27 semi-finalists opened up the Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale televised prelims, when Tyler Diamond took on Bryce Mitchell. The featherweight battle went down at the Pearl Theatre at the Palms Casino and Resort Friday night, and would see one of the pair pick up the first professional loss of their career.
Diamond and Mitchell stayed active on their feet to start, with Mitchell landing the first significant strike with a left hand. Diamond fired off a head kick that was blocked; Mitchell answered back with a jumping kick that sailed high. Things got a little wild on the feet, and Diamond was able to latch onto a single leg and take the fight to the ground. Mitchell worked a rubber guard and tried to sneak his leg up across the neck, submission in mind. Instead he powered back up only to find himself in a guillotine; Mitchell scooped up his opponent in a big takedown to break free of the choke. After a low blow by Mitchell paused the action briefly, he scored a takedown, but again Diamond latched onto his neck in a guillotine attempt. They’d finish the round with Mitchell controlling a grappling exchange on the feet.
Round two was active, back-and-forth once again. Yet this time, Bryce Mitchell was able to lock on with a triangle while the pair were on the ground. Mitchell then unloaded with an unholy number of elbows from the bottom while Diamond was trapped in the submission. The ref took a good look, but allowed the action to continue. Mitchell continued to squeeze with his legs, launching elbows, until finally, somehow, Diamond broke free. He moved to side control, and turned the tables on Mitchell as the round wore down, working in some ground n’ pound.
NASTY elbows by @ThugNastyMMA, but @TylerD1amond escapes the triangle and ends up on top!
What a round! #TUF27 pic.twitter.com/Sn2RUA4ged
— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2018
Mitchell landed a combo early in round three; Diamond returned fire, landing a strike of his own. Mitchell shot for a takedown, landing it but they rolled through and popped right back up. Diamond then dropped levels and scored a double leg of his own. That gave him plenty of time to work, and while he couldn’t find the finish, he controlled the bulk of the round, finishing in full control on Mitchell’s back.
Bryce Mitchell def. Tyler Diamond by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
