Mitchell Turns Purple, Gets Pulled From UFC 288

The last time Bryce Mitchell turned purple, he inadvertently ripped a hole through his featherweight speedbag, demonstrating reason No. 17 (out of 5,432) why you don’t carry a live power drill in your trouser pocket.

But since “Thug Nasty” was walking upright for Episode 1 of UFC 288 “Embedded,” we can’t blame his ballistic ballsack for his latest round of purple blotches. Mitchell, 28, had a large splotch on his shoulder along with some discoloration on his arm.

Skip to 7:20 to watch Mitchell get iced:

Here’s a few stills from the above video:

MMA Twitter was quick to draw its own conclusions:

When I had an MRI for a dislocated shoulder, they injected a purple fluid into my rotator cuff to see if it was torn. It leaked into the skin very similarly.

Creating an excuse just in case.

Carrying the flat earth on his shoulders really taking its toll on his muscles.

I’m guessing he recently had a MRI done, they’ll inject dye into the area to see things better.

It’s healing powder used on horses, helps soreness after a day in the work field or galloping. Looks identical.

Baby reveal gone wrong.

He’s turning into Thanos.

Blood clot, covHoax19 side effect.

There’s a spray you can use in cows for ringworm, I bet it’s that.

Other social media followers warned about reckless “conspiracy theories.”

Related or not, Mitchell was pulled from his UFC 288 showdown against Movsar Evloev less than 24 hours after that video was uploaded, according to ESPN Deportes. The Russian will now battle late replacement Diego Lopes on the “Sterling vs. Cejudo” pay-per-view (PPV) main card this Sat. night (May 6, 2023) at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 288 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 288: “Sterling vs. Cejudo” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 288 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.