UFC fighter and cattle farmer Bryce Mitchell spoke his mind when asked about the conflict in Ukraine prior to his fight at UFC 272 Media Day, and his response caused quite the stir.
“I’m not going nowhere to fight none of these wars for these politicians,” Mitchell said at a UFC press conference. “I’m staying at home, and when the war comes to Arkansas, I will dig my boots in the ground and I will die for everything I love. And I will not retreat.”
“I will dig my boots in the Arkansas soil and I will fight for the people I love, for the land that I love, and the way of life that I love. But I’m not going overseas to fight,” he continued. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
Mitchell won his fight against Edson Barboza at UFC 272, winning in a unanimous decision at T-Mobile Arena.
“I’m a warrior of God,” Mitchell told Joe Rogan during his octagon interview. “I fear no man. I live and breathe this sport.”
On Tuesday, Mitchell joined Fox News host Tucker Carlson and dove deeper into why he made his comments regarding the situation in Ukraine.
“I don’t have to be worried about being fired from my job for saying what I want to say,” Mitchell said when asked why he spoke his mind on Ukraine. “There’s a lot of people out there that do agree with me but they can’t say things that I get to say. Even though they think them, they’ll get fired from their job if they come out and say it. Dana White’s [UFC president] pretty good with how he lets us talk and say what we want.”
White has been vocal on his stance to allow UFC athletes to freely speak on their beliefs, telling The Daily Wire in an April interview that “they can say whatever they want to say.”
“It’s like we live in this world right now where nobody’s allowed to have their own opinion,” White told The Daily Wire. “These are all grown men and women that fight for us. They all have their own beliefs, their own politics or whatever it is. They can say whatever they want to say, to a point. I mean, there’s some times that some things cross the line, but at the end of the day, too, this is the fight business. Guess what? They say really mean things to each other.”
Carlson asked Mitchell about his statements on “dying for Arkansas,” to which the UFC fighter said it would be “the greatest honor I could ever have.”
“I’m far from not being a patriot. That would be the greatest thing I could do is die defending this land. I’m not afraid to do that. I’m just not wanting to go waste my life fighting for some of these battles that I don’t even believe in,” Mitchell said. “I believe our leaders, a lot of these elites, are guilty of treason.”
Nobody has described the American position on Ukraine as succinctly or as wisely as UFC Fighter @ThugnastyMMA pic.twitter.com/BCMfnniKPV
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 9, 2022
“This country is made up of small businesses and people like myself that are anything from rich,” Mitchell told Carlson. “That work hard every day and have goals. And that’s what this whole thing is attacking. It’s attacking the small business, the mom and pop shops. They’re paying the consequences. All this COVID stuff, it’s killed small businesses. They’re giving bailouts to the big businesses.”
“We’re tired of this politics crap that’s going on,” Mitchell added “It’s evil. Evil has taken over this nation… and we’re ready to fight.”
Mitchell has not been afraid to bring his politics into the UFC, saying that he wants to “share his beliefs.”
“I want to share my beliefs and hear other people’s beliefs. And maybe their beliefs can sway mine a little bit,” Mitchell said in the week leading up to UFC 272. “And maybe not. Maybe I can out debate them. Because this fight s*** is so minuscule in life. Yes, it’s great for me and a small circle of people that I can help, but this s*** is so minuscule. You have people out there being oppressed by governments. We fall into that category, believe it or not, if you want me to get real political.”
Mitchell fights in the UFC featherweight division and is 14-1-0 in his professional career.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.
Source: Dailywire
