Bryce Mitchell looked anything if not dejected while booed heavily at Friday’s UFC 314 press conference in Las Vegas.
The featherweight has not recovered from outright braindead comments made weeks ago, where he suggested NAZI dictator Adolf Hitler was a “good guy,” and that before he “got on meth,” “he was a guy to go fishing with.”
While Mitchell, who is no stranger to dumb statements, later tried to walk the comments back, the damage was done. He’s been public enemy number one in the UFC ever since, and that’s saying something in a promotion that sees one of either Jon Jones or Conor McGregor in scandals every other month.
Thursday’s presser saw Bryce Mitchell given a chance to explain himself by veteran journalist John Morgan, but “Thug Nasty” could barely get a word in before UFC 314 opponent Jean Silva interrupted.
“As Jesus said,” Mitchell began, before Silva broke in. “F*ck Bryce Mitchell. F*ck Bryce Mitchell. F*ck Bryce Mitchell.”
Mitchell sat in silence while the chant continued, and while Silva tried to get the fans to join in. “You’re barking up the wrong tree motherf*cker” Mitchell finally interjected, to little effect. Silva responded by holding aloft a globe, taunting the Arkansas native, whose flat-Earth beliefs have been widely ridiculed.
“Oh so you’re a scientist now. Tell us more,” Mitchell stated sarcastically. “You’re going to start seeing the world as round. You’re going to start seeing that soon,” Silva replied. If Silva gets his way, Mitchell will no doubt be seeing stars as well.
Mitchell’s appearance at the press conference almost felt like penance in a way. Or perhaps outright punishment, as putting him on display under these circumstances seems akin to forced contrition, and the UFC could easily have opted to give him a pass. Yet while Dana White has positioned himself as a champion of free speech, that speech can have consequences, and Mitchell felt them on Friday.
When the #13-ranked Mitchell tried to speak up for himself again, Jean Silva was having none of it. “Bryce Mitchell, calm down bro. You’re only here because of me. You’re only here cause of me. I have advice for you. Don’t pick up the mic. It’s getting ugly.”
It was, but Mitchell wasn’t done. “You can tap when you want out,” he exclaimed. Presumably from a submission in April. It was Mitchell who seemed to want out on Friday.
Silva was sure to add a few more digs. “Let me tell you something. Get used to seeing the world as round, baby. You know what’s the crazy thing? Look at me Bryce. Oh you’re looking at the screen?” Silva then went straight for the kill. “Not even you believe in yourself.”
Mitchell insisted that Jesus believed in him, coming back with “you have lord on your chest, I have the lord in my heart,” in reference to Silva’s “Lord” tattoo. “We’ll see who wins.”
We’ll see who wins the fight in April, but Bryce Mitchell was anything but a winner on Friday.
