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UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell is no stranger to oddball stories. The adamant ‘flat earther’ and conspiracy nut caught his first taste of fame back in 2018, when he accidentally drilled into his own scrotum while doing some home repairs. He’s been a non-stop source of weirdness ever since.
He’s also been a pretty damn good fighter in the 145 pound division. Currently coming off the first loss of his professional career, Mitchell hit the UFC at 9-0 back in 2018—fresh off the Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated season (where he lost an exhibition bout to eventual season winner Brad Katona). He picked up six more wins in short order inside the Octagon, including victories over Andre Fili and Edson Barboza.
Bryce Mitchell out of UFC 288
Mitchell had been set to take on fellow rising talent Movsar Evloev this Saturday, May 6th on the PPV portion of UFC 288. Unfortunately, ESPN reports that Mitchell has been forced out of the fight due to injury just five days out from the event. While the exact nature of his affliction wasn’t disclosed, fans on Twitter did a little sleuthing that suggests Mitchell may have been dealing with a ringworm infection.
The purple blotch on Mitchell’s arm and shoulder are likely the result of “RingOut” spray, most often used to treat farm animals for various fungal ailments.
Mitchell is set to be replaced on the UFC 288 fight card by short-notice call-up Diego Lopes. Lopes (21-5) was a competitor on the 2021 season of Dana White’s Contender Series, losing via Technical Decision to Joanderson Brito. Lopes followed that performance with a split loss to Nate Richardson at Fury FC 52, but the Brazilian has won two straight since, heading into his Octagon debut.
A strange Bryce Mitchell story resurfaces
Not to let a simple thing like a fight withdrawal take over Bryce Mitchell’s unending saga of strange behavior, shortly after news that the Barata MMA talent was out of his bout surfaced so did a story about a trip Mitchell took to Las Vegas with now-disgraced MMA coach James Krause.
In the video originally posted to Krause’s now defunct TikTok account, the Glory MMA & Fitness gym owner described how he, Mitchell, and several other fighters were all hanging out in a hotel room in Vegas, when ‘Thug Nasty’ left the room for a minute to talk to his girlfriend and never returned.
“I go in there, he’s asleep in my bed,” Krause recalled, after wondering why Mitchell had disappeared. “I said, ‘Dude, we gotta go.’ We’re headed to the venue at this point.
“There was a pair of my socks laying on the floor. I forgot, before he went in, he also borrowed a pair of my socks, and he had them on. I said, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’ He said, ‘Man, my girlfriend got talkin’ to me and I rubbed one out.’ I said, ‘Bro!? Hold on a second, what are you talking about!?’
“This dude came on my floor of my bathroom,” Krause continued. “Jizzed all over my floor; uses the socks, my socks, that were on his feet, to rub it in the floor to wipe it up; and then went to sleep in my bed. Like, he didn’t see a problem with that at all. There’s no problem to Bryce Mitchell that he was sleeping in my bed, jizzed on my floor—jerked off, came on my floor—and then used my socks that were on his feet to wipe them up. All while they’re still on his feet I might add. He didn’t take ’em off.
“He’s still wearing the c-m socks on his feet, and then goes to the venue with the c-m socks on.
“This is Bryce Mitchell in a nutshell. I can’t make this up. Bryce Mitchell is a special creature, fellas. He’s a national treasure and we need to protect him at all costs.”
Krause under investigation
While Mitchell is out of his fight at UFC 288, Krause finds himself in much more serious trouble. The former UFC lightweight and welterweight fighter is currently under investigation for an insider gambling scandal focused around Darrick Minner’s 2022 loss to Shaylian Neurdanbieke.
A Glory MMA trained fighter, Minner’s bout was subject to irregular betting activity in the hours leading up to his contest at UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Lemos. When the bout started, it became obvious that Minner was dealing with a previously undisclosed injury. He lost via first round TKO.
As his head coach (and formerly an active fighter) Krause had admitted openly to gambling on UFC bouts, even going so far as to advertise his own personal tout service where he would not just give paid gambling advice, but also place bets on behalf of clients. No word yet on the potential outcome of that investigation.
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