Bryce Mitchell vs Jonathan Pearce set for UFC 288
It appears no. 11 ranked UFC featherweight contender Bryce Mitchell (15-1) will get a quick turnaround following the first defeat of his professional career at UFC 282, as he’s just been scheduled to face Jonathan Pearce (14-4) at UFC 288.
UFC 288 is to go down on May 6, 2023, live from a to-be-determined venue and location.
Bryce Mitchell quickly became a fan favorite on the set of The Ultimate Fighter 27, where he went 1-1 en route to his finale victory over fellow undefeated Team Alpha Male prospect Tyler Diamond (MD).
The Arkansas native would win his next five fights over the next four years as well, defeating the likes of Bobby Moffett (UD), Matt Sayles (twister), Charles Rosa (UD), Andre Fili (UD), and Edson Barboza (UD), bringing us up to his latest appearance this past December where he lost to the 13-0 Ilia Topuria (arm-triangle choke) in round two.
Mitchell was battling the flu going into this fight, and it showed, as he quickly fatigued and got beat up considering.
That’s not to take away from Topuria, who’s a straight up assassin, but it wasn’t Mitchell’s best showing to say the least.
Jonathan Pearce on the other hand came to the UFC on a five-fight win streak with a record of 9-3, where he lost to Joe Lauzon (TKO) in Lauzon’s hometown of Boston, Massachusetts.
However, he hasn’t lost since then, winning his last five-straight against the likes of Kai Kamaka III (TKO), Omar Morales (rear naked choke), Christian Rodriguez (UD), Makwan Amirkhani (TKO), and most recently Darren Elkins (UD) back in December, one week prior to Mitchell’s fight with Topuria.
Both of these men are very similar in styles; they both are incredible offensive grapplers that break their opponents with a tenacious pace.
Who walks away from this featherweight bout going down at UFC 288 the victor?
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