Bryce Mitchell is blaming a bad game plan for the brutal knockout loss that he suffered at UFC 296 against Josh Emmett.
According to ‘Thug Nasty’ improper planning was the reason that he looked so ‘timid’ and eventually got knocked out during his fight with Josh Emmett. The knockout was a particularly violent one, and left Mitchell convulsing uncontrollably, battling what appeared to be a seizure.
Fans, commentators, and seemingly the entire world were concerned for the young UFC star. 4-1 in his last five, few would have expected such an outcome in that fight. Mitchell was the betting favorite leading into the bout, despite coming in on short notice. People expected him to utilize his smothering grappling, and this was aided by the fact that Emmett had been preparing for a striker before Mitchell (a grappler) stepped up on short notice.
Bryce Mitchell later took to social media and addressed the fans to let them know he was alright, and also spoke about his game plan leading into the matchup.
Bryce Mitchell releases statement on Instagram after he suffers one of the most brutal knockouts of the year
“Hey, I wanted to let everybody know that I’m ok,” Bryce Mitchell began, speaking on Instagram. “I wanted to thank y’all so much for watching and I’ve just been so blessed this weekend. I cannot complain about anything.”
“Really, where I messed up,” Mitchell continued. “Poor strategy. So, my strategy was to stick to the jab, make my reads, and work my feet. Kinda sit on the outside. But, that put me to where I’m not putting that forward pressure that I really like to put (on my opponents). It also made me look like, timid, ya know. And, that’s not how I fight.”
“I fight very aggressively,” Bryce Mitchell continued, looking very disgusted with the reality he was speaking about. “So, I encourage anybody that’s got a fight in their life, not just a fistfight, be aggressive… Just attack it, because at least if you go down, you’re gonna know that you fought and you went head-on towards it… Just a bad strategy by me tonight. And, uh gosh. Josh hits hard!”
Mitchell would continue for a short time longer, giving praise to his adversary. The video surely is bittersweet to fans. Watching such a devastating knockout occur is never a great thing, but at least Bryce Mitchell wasn’t seriously injured after that one.
What do you personally think about the strategy Bryce Mitchell employed against Josh Emmett?