Bryce Mitchell releases statement after loss to Jean Silva at UFC 314: ‘I had nothing left to give’
Bryce Mitchell made no excuses for his loss to Jean Silva in his first statement after falling by submission at UFC 314 on Saturday.
In what transformed into arguably the most talked about fight on the entire card, Silva dominated from start to finish with a dynamic performance before ultimately putting Mitchell to sleep with a nasty ninja choke in the second round. Prior to the finish, Silva was dazzling on the feet but also showcased superior grappling as he shut down Mitchell in almost every exchange before wrapping up the submission victory.
Following the event, Mitchell took to social media to address his loss and the disappointing result that he clearly didn’t see coming.
“I want to thank everybody for their support and let ya’ll know I’m doing just fine,” Mitchell said on Instagram. “Thank God, he protected me. I didn’t lose my teeth. I don’t got no broken bones. So I feel good about that. I fought as hard as I possibly could. I couldn’t have fought any harder. I could have fought smarter.
“I’m going to go make some adjustments but I mean he put me to sleep. I had nothing left to give. I’m happy about that, knowing that I tried my best. But I’ve got to get better. That’s just the lesson learned here, I’ve got to get better.”
Saturday was the culmination of a difficult few months for Mitchell after he went from largely being a fan favorite to one of the most vilified fighters on the entire roster following abhorrent comments he made on a podcast defending Adolf Hitler and then denying that the Holocaust happened.
During his first encounter with Silva at a pre-fight press conference, Mitchell was showered with boos from the audience, which was a reaction he had never really received before.
Still, Mitchell says by the time he got to fight night, he felt the love and adoration from the fans that chose to stick by his side through thick and thin.
“I have never had this much outpouring of support,” Mitchell said. “It’s just crazy. It’s been a whole crazy week and I can’t even put it into words.
“I really thought that I was going to win the fight. 100 percent believed it. Because I just never had a fight that big before and I was like wow out of nowhere, this fight just got this much hype. God’s chosen me to win this fight but that wasn’t the case.”
The submission loss drops Mitchell to 2-3 in his past five fights, which also includes the devastating knockout he suffered against Josh Emmett back in 2023.
As much as it stings to lose, Mitchell vowed that he’ll keep going with a dedication to get even better before he returns to compete in the UFC again.
“I’m just going to keep fighting. That’s all I can do,” Mitchell said. “That’s all we can all do. Any time you take a loss, just learn from it and keep fighting. That’s what I’m going to do.”