Bryce Mitchell broke hand, hates masks

Westside MMA’s Bryce “Thugnasty” Mitchell pushed his record to 14-0 with a win over Andre “Touchy” Fili in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN+ 39 on Saturday night. At the post-fight press conference, Mitchell revealed he broke his left hand. But before that, he delivered an impassioned message against masks and for opening up the economy in his home state of Arkansas.

I’m just asking to get our freedoms back, and I don’t think that’s much to ask for, said Mitchell. What I’m saying is, make the mask optional in Arkansas for people who own restaurants and people who own businesses. Make it optional. Why tell someone they have to wear a mask? What if they don’t want to or what if it affects their breathing and gives them headaches?

Here’s another theory I got. If your mask works so well, why are you worried about if I’m wearing one? Don’t you got one on? Why does it matter? If they work so good, why are you worried I got one? You wear one and you worry about you. If you think you’re gonna get sick, stay home. That’s all I’m saying. I’m saying taking away our liberties and our freedoms without a vote, I don’t think that’s the right answer.”

There’s going to be a lot of criticism and a lot of people attacking me, they’re going to say I’m a dumb MMA fighter and that I don’t got no sense sharing my opinion. But you know what? I pay my taxes.

The tax-paying, used car lot promoting star on the rise also discussed his hand injury.

I broke my hand in the first round and kept swinging with it, he said. I was like, ‘The hell with it. I’m going to keep throwing it.’

I knew something was wrong with my hand and I just envisioned myself doing better. I think it was on an overhand left.

I’m going to have to take a little while off. I don’t got no choice. You won’t see me in here for a little while. I’m going to heal up the best I can and come back the strongest I can.

I keep getting better every fight, but every fight I feel like there’s something wrong that I have to fix. I’m just going to try to improve as much as I can and heal my body right now because I have some healing to do.