After being defeated by Jean Silva via submission at UFC 314 on Saturday, Bryce Mitchell has spoken out, making no excuses for his performance.
The fight, which became a major talking point of the event, saw Silva dominate Mitchell from beginning to end. Silva showcased impressive striking and superior grappling skills, effectively neutralizing Mitchell in almost every exchange before securing a ninja choke in the second round, putting Mitchell to sleep.
Following the event, Mitchell addressed his fans on social media, acknowledging the disappointing outcome which he clearly hadn`t anticipated.
“Thank you everyone for your support, I`m doing okay,” Mitchell stated on Instagram. “Thank God protected me. No broken bones or lost teeth, so I`m grateful for that. I fought as hard as I could, I gave it my all. Maybe I could have fought smarter.”
“I’m going to work on adjustments, but he got me good. I had nothing more to offer. I’m okay with knowing I did my best, but I need to improve. That’s the main takeaway here, I need to get better.”
Saturday`s fight concluded a challenging period for Mitchell. Having previously been a popular fighter, he faced significant backlash after making disturbing comments on a podcast where he defended Adolf Hitler and denied the Holocaust.
During a pre-fight press conference with Silva, Mitchell was met with boos from the audience, a reaction he was not accustomed to.
However, Mitchell mentioned that on fight night, he felt the support and love from fans who remained by his side.
“I`ve never experienced this level of support,” Mitchell said. “It’s been a crazy week, hard to describe in words.”
“I truly believed I was going to win this fight, 100 percent. It felt like such a hyped fight out of nowhere, and I thought God had chosen me to win, but that wasn`t the case.”
This submission loss marks Mitchell`s record at 2 wins and 3 losses in his last five fights, including a knockout defeat against Josh Emmett in 2023.
Despite the sting of defeat, Mitchell pledged to continue working hard and improving before his next UFC appearance.
“I’m just going to keep fighting. That’s all I can do,” Mitchell concluded. “That’s all any of us can do. When you lose, you learn from it and keep fighting. That’s what I intend to do.”
