Report: Controversial UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell set for bantamweight debut

Bryce Mitchell is reportedly headed down to the UFC bantamweight division.

Mitchell has spent the entirety of his UFC career so far competing at featherweight. At one point, he was one of the hottest young contenders in the division. He even managed to crack the division’s top-15. However, things have taken a pretty nasty turn for the man known as “Thug Nasty” in the last few years.

Not only has the always controversial fighter alienated vast swaths of the MMA fan base with some shocking comments about Adolf Hitler, he has also experienced some tough losses. The Arkansas native is 2-3 in his last five fights. His wins came against Dan Ige and Kron Gracie—the latter of whom was unranked. Meanwhile, he suffered a pair of violent knockout losses to Ilia Topuria and Josh Emmett, and in his last fight, was choked out by Jean Silva.

With so much difficulty in his last few fights at featherweight, Mitchell has decided to cut an additional 10 pounds for his next fight, which will see him take on Russia’s Said Nurmagomedov when the UFC returns to Abu Dhabi on July 26.

That’s according to Red Corner MMA.

🚨 BREAKING: Bryce Mitchell will make his bantamweight debut against Said Nurmagomedov at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 26. pic.twitter.com/ko3axDHbkB

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) June 4, 2025

Said Nurmagomedov welcomes Bryce Mitchell to the UFC bantamweight division

Contrary to his last name, Said Nurmagomedov is not related to legendary UFC champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, they run in the same circles. Like Mitchell, he’s struggled with consistency lately, going 1-2 in his last three. In his last fight, the bantamweight lost a decision to Vinicius Oliveira. That was preceded by an impressive submission win over Muin Gafurov, and another decision loss to Jonathan Martinez. He also holds wins over Douglas Silva de Andrade, Cody Stamann, and Justin Scoggins.

The July 26 card in Abu Dhabi will be headlined by a middleweight fight between ONE Championship titleholder Reinier de Ridder and former UFC champ Robert Whittaker. Former Bellator star Aaron Pico will also debut on the card, taking on Movsar Evloev at featherweight.