Bryce Mitchell’s recent foray into grappling might not have gone as successfully as he had hoped.
On Friday night at the La Quinta Inn & Suites in San Antonio, Texas, Mitchell entered the 16-man lightweight bracket at Eddie Bravo Invitational 25 (EBI 25). “Thug Nasty” earned a hard-fought victory in his opening quarter-final against brown belt JJ Bowers, claiming the win in overtime with the fastest escape time.
However, in the semi-finals, the polarizing UFC fighter faced 19-year-old Landon Elmore, and the matchup quickly turned against him. Early in the bout, Elmore locked in a flying triangle choke, compelling Mitchell to carry his opponent out of bounds.
When the action resumed, Elmore wasted no time, diving for a leg attack that forced the 30-year-old Arkansas native to tap less than a minute into the contest, bringing his tournament run to an abrupt end.
Bryce Mitchell is widely regarded as one of the most skilled grapplers in the UFC, having secured nine submission victories over the course of his 22-fight professional career. In fact, “Thug Nasty” kicked off his career with an impressive streak, winning his first eight bouts on the regional circuit, all by submission.
Mitchell was most recently seen in the Octagon at UFC Abu Dhabi in July, where he made a successful bantamweight debut, earning a unanimous decision victory over Said Nurmagomedov.
Before this victory, Mitchell endured a challenging stretch in the featherweight division, going 2-3 in his last five fights at 145 pounds. All three defeats came by stoppage against top-tier opponents, including current lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, Josh Emmett, and Jean Silva. He now holds a 9-3 record in the UFC.
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