Bryce Mitchell doesn’t appear to be fully focused on his comeback.
‘Thug Nasty’ hasn’t fought since suffering one of the most vicious knockout losses in UFC history when he squared off against Josh Emmett at UFC 296 in December 2023.
Just days before his return bout against Kron Gracie at UFC 310 on Saturday night, Bryce Mitchell launched a wild rant at tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The 30-year-old focused on a very different but equally bizarre topic while taking to assembled press members during Wednesday’s UFC 310 media day.
Bryce Mitchell explains his beef with seatbelts
Mitchell has become infamous for his wacky takes on the world.
The featherweight contender uses his time in front of the UFC cameras to talk about a wide range of topics, which often have nothing to do with the fight he’s got coming up.
Things are no different ahead of UFC 310 as the part-time rapper has gone viral on social media for ranting about his dislike of seatbelts to promote his latest fight.
“Seatbelts, I think it’s just like you get to choose if you wanna wear a seatbelt,” Mitchell said.
“The government, they don’t wipe my a** for me, and they shouldn’t be able to tell me if I want to wear a seatbelt.
“I personally don’t like them because I think, ‘What if you have gotta jump out of the car and duck and roll?’ Nobody ever thinks about that.
“I don’t personally wear a seatbelt. Growing up, my mom never wore one. I just don’t believe in them and it’s not up to the government if I wear a seatbelt or not. That’s just my view on it and that’s why I don’t wear them.
“I strap my baby in. You know, I strap Tucker in, but I just don’t like wearing them. I like the maneuverability.”
Kron Gracie responds to UFC 310 main card critics
Mitchell’s antics away from the Octagon appear to be working as he’s been given a spot on the UFC 310 main card ahead of the higher-ranked contenders, former champions, and MMA legends fighting on the card.
Kron Gracie hopes to snap his two-fight losing streak when he returns to the cage for the first time in 19 months this weekend.
In the meantime, he’s sent a message to those complaining about his placement on the card.
“I think it’s funny because the people always have something to say,” Gracie told MMA Fighting.
“And it’s interesting that people who would complain about something like that are probably the people who are not even paying for the pay-per-view, they’re streaming it for free. You’re stealing the pay-per-view and they’re the ones complaining about where the fight is.
“If anything, [Sterling vs. Evloev is] a free fight for the fans that they get to watch sooner. I don’t see why it’s such a big deal obviously because I don’t really care about that kind of situation.
“But I think that the placement of the fight is kind of not the most important thing, and I don’t care where I’m at on the card. The sooner, the better really. I get to go on with my life after that.”