UFC featherweight contender Bryce Mitchell intends to make a difference outside of the cage following all of his future fights.
Mitchell earned a dominant win over Edson Barboza on the UFC 272 main card. He wrestled and smothered Barboza for a majority of the fight and was able to withstand Barboza’s advances on the feet.
After the fight, Mitchell used his post-fight Octagon interview with Joe Rogan to announce that he would be donating half of his purse to help local youth back home in Arkansas. This caused quite the positive pop from the T-Mobile Arena crowd, and he certainly gained fans for his generosity.
During his UFC 272 post-fight press conference, Mitchell said that UFC President Dana White wants to get involved in his out-of-competition causes.
“Dana White came up to me after the fight and said ‘Don’t give your money; I’m going to give the $45,000,’” Mitchell revealed. “I’m still going to give some money, you know? But he told me, ‘Don’t give any of your money. It’s going to be mine, and I’m going to take care of it.’ But I’m still going to do something because I just need to, but there will be more than $45,000. We have people coming out of the woodwork. So I’m planting the seed and we’re going to watch this thing grow.”
Mitchell is the latest UFC fighter to use his platform to help those less fortunate. UFC stars such as Dustin Poirier and Kamaru Usman have helped their hometowns in a big way by being an inspiration and continuing to grow MMA.
“Well, children are some of the most precious things on the planet, brother,” Mitchell said. “I mean, I see so much evil and wickedness in the world and so much greed, people killing for money, it makes me sick. I want to do the exact opposite. And do you know what the greatest thing I can do in that cage is? It’s inspire. That’s the greatest thing I can do in that cage is inspire people. And let me tell you why; because me, by myself, I really can’t do shit. My $45,000, when it comes to (the) medical profession, really ain’t shit. That shit’s gone in one surgery. That shit’s gone in a couple skin grafts. You see what I’m saying?
“But if I can inspire you, and you, and you, and you, then it’s limitless, it keeps going, it’s perpetual. So the greatest thing I can do is inspire, and I really feel that I’ve done that, and I really feel that I owe that to God.”
Mitchell went on to clarify that this isn’t just a one-time opportunity of his to make a difference for Arkansas youth.
“Every time I fight there will be children healed through the fight.”
Mitchell’s win over Barboza is arguably the biggest win of his young UFC career. He returned to the cage following a nearly two-year hiatus from the sport.
While Mitchell seems proud of his performance inside the cage, he appears even more focused on his efforts outside of it. He’s looking to make an impact on children back in his hometown and continuing to use his platform for societal causes.
