‘Don’t Give A Damn Bout Them Abs. Let’s Go, Buddy’

Bryce Mitchell has accepted a fight against Ilia Topuria for the UFC’s upcoming Fight Night scheduled for November 5th.

It looks like we may have a new main event set for UFC Vegas 64 on Nov. 5, 2022.

Bryce Mitchell was originally set to face the extremely tough Movsar Evloev in the top slot for the UFC APEX-based event in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately for everyone excited about that Featherweight clash, the 16-0 Evloev (6-0 UFC) was forced to pull out of their bout with an undisclosed injury. Now, we have reports that Mitchell will face the equally tough (but lower ranked) Ilia Topuria instead.

Topuria called for the match up on social media in a somewhat unusual way, simply tweeting a photo of his abs to Mitchell.

Bryce soon responded, saying he was down with the fight.

“I see I’m getting called out by Ilia Topuria to fight,” Mitchell said in a video. “He wants to go on Twitter and post a picture of his abs, his little perfect eight pack or whatever. Hey buddy, you see this [shows off belly]. You see that, buddy? I’ve been eating peanut butter cookies for like three weeks now, and I’ll still get off my couch and whoop your a— buddy.”

“Don’t give a damn about them abs. Let’s go buddy. I’m tired of you putting my name in your mouth. Shouldn’t have done it.”

Topuria implied the fight was coming together, writing, “Finally! See you November 5,” and “Ready to die making weight,” which … isn’t exactly the most assuring thing to hear from someone who now has three weeks to cut down to 146 pounds. But hey, if he says he’s ready to die, who are we to say it’s a bad idea?

What could go wrong!

Topuria would come into a fight with Mitchell with a 12-0 record (4-0 UFC). Three of his four UFC fights have ended via knockout, including his most recent bout in March, which was contested at Lightweight. Prior to his time in UFC, “El Matador” was more of a submission finisher, winning his first six fights in a row via chokes and his seventh via armbar.

Mitchell is 15-0 (6-0 UFC) and is a certified submission specialist, being one of the few fighters to pull off a twister in UFC (watch it). Most recently he beat Edson Barboza at UFC 272 in March so badly that judges awarded him 30-25, 30-26 and 30-27 scores. Few fighters are lining up to face these tough Russian and Caucasus fighters, but Mitchell clearly doesn’t care, despite now fighting down from his No. 9 spot in the rankings to face the No. 14-seeded Topuria.

While several outlets have confirmed this fight as being official, it’s unclear whether that’s based off both fighters agreeing to the bout or if confirmation has come through UFC. But, as it stands, the Magic UFC Matchmaking 8-Ball says, “All signs point to yes.”