Getty Images UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell.
Bryce Mitchell ran his record to 15-0 at UFC 272 with a dominant victory over Edson Barboza and the rising featherweight is ready for a title shot.
Mitchell has slid into the top 10 of the UFC featherweight rankings and feels ready for a shot at the featherweight strap if the opportunity arises — which could be sooner than later. “Thug Nasty” sent out a tweet this week telling the UFC to call him if either Alexander Volkanovski or Chan Sung Jung — aka the Korean Zombie — back out of their championship bout at UFC 273.
“If Volkanovski or Zombie backs out – call me UFC,” Mitchell tweeted on March 12.
Mitchell is one of the more unique characters in the UFC, calling Arkansas home and coming with a diverse background in hobbies — from farming to rapping. UFC 272 Embedded gave fans further insight into his life.
“It means a lot to me that people like me and, of course, I won’t compromise any of my character or my integrity or act a certain way to have people like me,” Mitchell told UFC.com. “I’m so glad that I get to be myself and I get to go on Embedded and read those good comments about me and what I have going on.”
Mitchell Stepped Up With Donation After UFC 272 Win
Mitchell also earned some kudos for announcing after his most recent win that he’d be donating $45,000 — half of his fight purse — to charity.
“Y’all have had my back and I ain’t done a damn thing for y’all… Half of my fight purse, $45,000 is going to Arkansas children with no homes who have medical conditions,” he said from the octagon.
UFC President Dana White stepped in after the fight and said they would donate the money for Mitchell. However, the fighter still wants to do something for his home state.
“I’m still going to do something because I just need to but there will be more than just $45,000 dollars. We have people coming out of the woodwork, so, I’m planting the seed. … We’re going to watch this thing grow. It’s all about giving back. It’s not about just hurting people, when I’m done we’re going to help people.”
Mitchell Called Out by Sodiq Yusuff
If Thug Nasty does not get the call, he has options for his next fight. He was called out by No. 11 ranked Sodiq Yusuff after he beat Alex Caceres via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 203.
“I’d like to stay super busy and I want to test myself against Arkansas’ finest,” Yusuff told Paul Felder during his in-cage interview. “I think me and Bryce would put on a really cool fight.”
Yusuff later expanded on his desire to fight Mitchell in his post-fight presser, saying he thought it was going to happen previously.
Sodiq Yusuff thinks Bryce Mitchell owes him a scrap after “toying” with him on Instagram. 😬
#UFCVegas50 | Full video: t.co/l1npsvxcWi
“Bryce put up a post a while ago asking for an opponent and I commented on it that I wanted to be his opponent and he liked it, so I thought I was going to get the fight with Bryce,” Yusuff said. “Then a week later, it was announced he was getting the fight with Edson (Barboza), so I was like, ‘Oh he just toyed with me.’”