UFC 249: Bryce Mitchell utterly dominates Charles Rosa with grappling masterclass in unanimous decision win
- ‘Thug Nasty’ almost submits ‘Boston Strong’ with his favoured Twister submission several times
- Mitchell puts on a sensational grappling clinic in Jacksonville with one judge giving him three 10-8 rounds
Bryce Mitchell put on a grappling masterclass against Charles Rosa in a dominant decision win on the UFC 249 prelims on Saturday night in an empty VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
The judges scored the fight 30-25, 30-25, and 30-24 – meaning one judge called all three rounds 10-8 for “Thug Nasty” after he unofficially scored 13 minutes and 59 seconds of ground control in the 15-minute bout.
The undefeated 25-year-old Mitchell (13-0) came close with an unprecedented three twister attempts, two arm triangles, and a Von Flue Choke, with high-level black-belt Rosa (12-4) left helpless and seconds from tapping in the second round.
“Yeah, before the fight Charles talked a lot of s***,” Mitchell told Joe Rogan in the Octagon after his win. “We weren’t happy with each other. But right after the fight he says, ‘Hey man, you’re championship material’.
“He thanked me, and I got nothing but respect for him – 99 per cent of people would’ve tapped to that s***. Right now I’ve got nothing bad to say. I was pissed at him at first, but we shook it off.”
“I ain’t going nowhere,” Mitchell added, ominously.
“Thug Nasty” transitioned seamlessly throughout the fight, with Rosa saved by the buzzer in the first round as Mitchell looked to sink in the twister.
Rosa’s corner tried to encourage him before the second round, saying “he’s getting tired” – but Mitchell was anything but. In the third round, Rosa was in so much turmoil on the ground that tried to goad Mitchell into standing up.
If Mitchell had secured the rarely-seen twister finish, it would have been his second in two fights having done the same to Matt Sayles in December last year.
“I just think that I proved that I got world class teammates and coaches,” Mitchel added backstage. “I’ve been saying that for years, what they’re telling me to do and what I’m doing is world class s***.
“I’ve always believed that and I guess people are starting to believe that themselves now but even when nobody did believe I don’t give a damn I’ll go out there and fight anyways.”
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