Top UFC featherweight contender Bryce Mitchell will return to the Octagon on November 5 when he will take on another surging featherweight in Russia’s Movsar Evloev. The event — details of which have yet to be ironed out — will take place at the UFC Apex. It is possible that the bout between Mitchell and Evloev will be the night’s five-round main event.
Mitchell (15-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) will head into the fight as the #10 ranked featherweight contender. Evloev (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) trails just behind him at #11.
The match-up has fight fans excited as both contenders have been nothing but impressive over the course of their respective UFC runs to this point. Mitchell last emerged victorious over longtime UFC veteran Edson Barboza at UFC 272. As has been the case throughout Mitchell’s career to date, the Arkansas product was thoroughly dominant in the wrestling department. He managed to control Barboza for almost the entirety of rounds two and three, as well as the latter portion of round one after scoring a knockdown courtesy of a right-hook.
Prior to the bout with Barboza, Mitchell outwrestled BJJ blackbelt Charles Rosa for just about the entirety of the fight. He also became just the second UFC fighter to secure a twister submission in his debut in Washington D.C., where he further solidified himself as a rising star with a hilarious shoutout to then-President Trump in his post-fight interview.
“Donald Trump. I’m up here in D.C. If you need help whooping some politician, holler at me brother; I’ll do it for free!” Mitchell shouted into the microphone during the interview.
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Mitchell has cultivated a large conservative fanbase due to his outspoken and honest interview style. After defeating Andre Fili in October 2020, Mitchell used his post-fight press conference to call for an end to mask mandates and lockdown orders in his state.
Prior to his clash with Barboza at UFC 272, Mitchell’s pre-fight press conference interview went viral after he shared his thoughts on the conflict in Ukraine. “I’m not going nowhere to fight none of these wars for these politicians,” Mitchell said when asked for his thoughts on the matter. “I’m staying at home and when the war comes to Arkansas, I will dig my boots in the ground and I will die for everything I love.”
The UFC featherweight then said he believes the conflict is being oversimplified by U.S. politicians and media outlets. “I don’t know what’s going on, to be honest brother,” Mitchell said. “There’s so much stuff and I don’t think nobody knows what’s going on fully. There’s been so much political corruption in that area.”
“You got Biden and his son making a sh** ton of money, using our tax dollars to bribe their people. That’s treasonous in my opinion,” Mitchell said. “So you got Biden and his son using our tax dollars saying, ‘hey, Ukrainian government if you don’t do this, we’re taking your tax dollars. He shouldn’t be giving our tax dollars to that country anyway.”
The undefeated fighter concluded his answer by saying he feels bad for innocent civilians in harm’s way. “Man I don’t like war. But I don’t know what’s going on, I think there’s so much stuff that’s corrupted, we just don’t know what’s truly going on over there. And I just pray all those people are safe.”
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The rising UFC star will have his work cut out for him during his next bout against Evloev, who has shown high-level ability in both the striking and wrestling departments. The Russian has secured dominant victories over well-established UFC featherweights in Hakeem Dawodu, Nik Lentz and Dan Ige.
It is possible that the fight will serve as the event’s five-round main event. Neither fighter has headlined a UFC event to this point in their respective careers, though headliners typically tend to be contested between rising, ranked contenders. The winner could also find themself in a title eliminator bout, where a win would land them a shot at the title.
