Bryce Mitchell is adamant that his animosity towards Jean Silva leading up to their UFC 314 clash is not manufactured.
Following his recent victory in Seattle, Silva called out Mitchell, and matchmakers obliged, scheduling a featherweight bout for this Saturday in Miami. While Silva aims to climb the rankings by defeating Mitchell, his motivations extend beyond professional advancement. He seeks to humble Mitchell due to the Arkansan`s support of Adolf Hitler and propagation of Holocaust conspiracy theories on his podcast.
Silva has intensified the verbal sparring, ridiculing Mitchell`s controversial beliefs. However, he conveyed to MMA Fighting that he anticipates their differences will be resolved inside the octagon.
Mitchell, however, is not convinced.
“He professes to love Jesus, yet he calls himself ‘Lord’ and his actions contradict his words,” Mitchell stated at UFC 314 media day on Wednesday. “He doesn’t treat me with respect. My interactions with him indicate a lack of Jesus in his heart because he treats me terribly, and I will say that directly to him. If you are a follower of Jesus, you should treat others with respect, which he fails to do.”
“Jesus gave two commandments: to love God wholeheartedly and to love your neighbor as yourself. Is he treating me as he treats himself?” Mitchell questioned.
When asked again about the genuineness of Silva`s ill will, Mitchell responded directly.
“I believe his feelings are malicious, and he will not enjoy it when his face is being pounded in,” Mitchell asserted.
Adding to the pre-fight narrative, Mitchell made an outlandish claim that Silva is responsible for disturbing nightmares he has experienced since their fight announcement.
He clarified that he doesn`t genuinely attribute the nightmares to Silva, yet he elaborated on his supposed ordeal.
“I don’t believe Jean is directly causing my dreams,” Mitchell explained. “I`m not accusing him of witchcraft. I believe Satan has cast a spell upon me during sleep, causing me to see demonic visions. I see legions of demons and fight them with my fists all night. I strike them down, but upon waking, I am drenched in sweat. Returning to sleep, I am then tempted by beautiful women to betray my wife in my dreams. This pattern persisted for two consecutive weeks.”
“That`s when I realized this was abnormal, unprecedented for me, and indicative of a spiritual attack. I sought prayer at church, and the nightmares subsided after numerous Christians prayed for me.”
Mitchell is coming off a third-round knockout victory against Kron Gracie last December, a crucial win following a knockout loss to Josh Emmett. He aims to inflict the first defeat on Silva, a Brazilian fighter who has finished his initial four UFC opponents with strikes.
Despite the surrounding drama, Mitchell assures he is fully prepared for the fight.
“I am completely focused,” Mitchell stated, adding later, “I will personally whoop his ass.”
