Bryce Mitchell took a jab at Said Nurmagomedov with a playful spin on a viral catchphrase.
On Saturday, Mitchell made a successful return to the bantamweight division, earning a dominant unanimous decision win over Nurmagomedov on the UFC Abu Dhabi preliminary card at Etihad Arena.
"Thug Nasty" opened aggressively but paid for it early, eating sharp counters and suffering a knockdown. Nurmagomedov followed up with a massive flying knee that floored him again, but Mitchell managed to recover and survive the onslaught.
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In the second and third rounds, Mitchell leaned heavily on his wrestling, scoring timely takedowns and controlling key positions. He ended the final round in back control, sealing the deal with all three judges scoring the bout 29-28 in his favor.
On Sunday, Bryce Mitchell took to Instagram and posted a story where he fired shots at Said Nurmagomedov, repurposing Islam Makhachev’s infamous catchphrase to mock his Dagestani opponent after a grappling-centric showdown.
"Thug Nasty" borrowed a page from the former UFC lightweight champion’s playbook, flipping the iconic “Send him 2-3 years Dagestan and forget” into his own hilarious twist: “Send him to Arkansas, 2-3 years and forget about it.”
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In a past interview with UFC Hall of Famer and former training partner Daniel Cormier, Islam Makhachev jokingly suggested that if parents wanted their child to become an elite wrestler, they should “send them to Dagestan for two to three years and forget.” The tongue-in-cheek remark has since taken on a life of its own, becoming a widely recognized meme within the MMA community.
Bryce Mitchell entered UFC Abu Dhabi looking to rebound from a tough second-round submission loss to Jean Silva at UFC 314, a setback which led the Arkansas native to make the cut down to bantamweight. Before securing his win over Nurmagomedov, “Thug Nasty” had dropped three of his last five UFC outings, with each of those defeats coming via stoppage.
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