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UFC’s Bryce Mitchell cancels match vs. Israeli fighter, teases ‘big fight coming up'

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Chris De Santiago | Last updated Feb 24, 2025 11:55 AM ET

Featherweight Bryce Mitchell is setting his UFC priorities straight.

The controversial contender made headlines earlier this year when he said he believed Adolf Hitler was a 'good guy', adding that the Nazi leader responsible for the death of 6 millions Jews would be someone he'd go fishing with.

Of course, Mitchell's comments on his podcast didn't go over well with Dana White and the UFC brass, but nevertheless "Thug Nasty" still has a job - and one he plans on keeping.

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Bryce Mitchell Pulls Out Of Grappling Match On Friday

This weekend, Mitchell was given permission to compete in a grappling match at Karate Combat 53. His opponent? Undefeated Israeli fighter Ilay Barzilay (6-0). However, just a few days away from the matchup, Mitchell announced his withdrawal.

"I wanna let y'all know I'm pulling outta my grappling match on Friday," Mitchell said on Monday. "This is my first time announcing it. Karate Combat don't even know yet. So I'm literally announcing it myself before I tell anybody. I don't want my words to get twisted, and I don't quite trust them with my words."

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"Reason being is, the great news is I've got a big matchup coming up [in UFC], big fight coming up," Mitchell continued. "I don't know the exact details on the fight, but I'm just telling y'all, something's coming up and please be patient with me. I wanna fight too, and I can't wait for this next fight. I'm prioritizing the fight over a grappling match. It's not worth it for me knowing I got a fight coming up now to do a grappling match on Friday."

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Brazilian breakout star Jean Silva called out Mitchell following his last fight over the weekend, another highlight-reel KO, with the two exchanging words on a potential fight since then.

This leaves us to wonder: is the 'big fight' Bryce Mitchell's talking about Jean Silva?