Bryce Mitchell’s move to bantamweight continues to pay off, as he pushed his record at 135 pounds to 2-0 with a submission victory over previously undefeated Santiago Luna at UFC Fight Night 278 at Meta APEX.
Mitchell, now 19-3 as a professional and 10-3 in the UFC, made the drop from featherweight about a year ago after roughly a decade competing at 145 pounds. The win over Luna further solidified his early success in the new division.
Describing how he feels at bantamweight, Mitchell said, "I just feel matched," and added, "I don't feel big, but I definitely don't feel small. And I feel like when I get my grips, I can take anybody down in that weight class. And I don't think size will be a disadvantage. I think it's an equal playing field, whereas I was really outsized at '45."
Mitchell pointed to his last featherweight bout, a loss to Jean Silva, as a turning point. "It wasn't until I fought Jean Silva. It was in the second round when I got a good hold of his waist, and I was like, 'He's just too big to lift up,'" he said. "And after fighting Jean Silva, I really felt his presence, and his body weight really wore me down."
Looking at bantamweight, Mitchell said, "I think there's more opportunity in the '35 division. I think those are some of the biggest factors. I have a good frame for '35, whereas at 'æ4'5 there are people that are taller and weigh more. It's just hard to get up there in that æ45 division. There's a lot of names, whereas '35, there's more openings for me."
