Bryce Mitchell wants to make it clear that his conflict with Jean Silva leading up to UFC 314 is absolutely real.
After securing a victory at UFC Seattle, Silva called out Mitchell, and the UFC matchmakers agreed, scheduling a featherweight bout for this Saturday in Miami. Silva is not only motivated to climb the rankings by defeating Mitchell but also to humble him due to Mitchell`s controversial remarks supporting Adolf Hitler and spreading Holocaust conspiracy theories on his podcast.
Silva has intensified the trash talk, ridiculing Mitchell for his more extreme beliefs. However, he mentioned to MMA Fighting that he believes their issues will be resolved in the octagon.
Mitchell is not so sure that will be the case.
“He claims to love Jesus, yet he calls himself ‘Lord’ and his actions don`t reflect Christian values,” Mitchell stated at UFC 314 media day on Wednesday. “He doesn’t show me respect. My judgment is based on my interactions with him – he doesn’t have Jesus in his heart because he treats me like garbage, and I’m not afraid to say that directly to him. If you are a follower of Jesus, you should treat people with respect, which he fails to do.”
“Jesus gave two commandments: To love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. Is he treating me as well as he treats himself?”
When asked again if he truly believes Silva harbors negative feelings towards him, Mitchell responded directly.
“I believe his feelings are very negative, and he’s not going to enjoy it when he gets his face smashed in,” Mitchell asserted.
Adding to the unusual pre-fight narrative, Mitchell claimed that Silva is responsible for disturbing nightmares he has experienced since their fight was announced.
He clarified that he doesn’t actually think Silva is causing the nightmares, though he elaborated on the unsettling experiences.
“I don’t believe Jean is directly causing my dreams,” Mitchell said. “I’m not accusing him of witchcraft. What I’m saying is that Satan has cast a spell over me in my sleep, causing me to see demons and legions of them. I fight them all night, punching them down, but I wake up drenched in sweat. Then, going back to sleep, I`m tempted by beautiful women trying to make me unfaithful to my wife. This happened for two consecutive weeks.”
“That’s when I realized this was abnormal, something I`d never experienced before, and concluded it was a spiritual attack. I sought prayer from my church, and the nightmares subsided after many Christians prayed for me.”
Mitchell is coming off a third-round knockout victory over Kron Gracie last December, a crucial win after suffering a knockout loss to Josh Emmett. He now aims to inflict the first defeat on Silva, a Brazilian fighter known for his knockout power, who has finished all of his first four UFC opponents.
Despite the surrounding drama, Mitchell assures everyone he is fully prepared for the fight.
“I’m completely focused,” Mitchell stated, adding later, “I’m going to personally whoop his ass.”
