For Ilay Barzilay, his planned grappling match with Bryce Mitchell was far from a publicity stunt. It was deeply personal.
Barzilay, a 23-year-old перспективный боец from Israel, eagerly accepted the match against UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell. This came after Mitchell made disturbing remarks on his podcast, defending Adolf Hitler and denying the Holocaust. Dana White, UFC CEO, publicly condemned Mitchell’s statements as “beyond disgusting” and incredibly ignorant.
Barzilay responded to Mitchell’s comments on Instagram, which caught the attention of Karate Combat. However, the grappling match, initially scheduled for last Friday, was called off because Mitchell is now set to fight Jean Silva at UFC 314 in Miami this April.
“I only had a week’s notice for this grappling match,” Barzilay explained. “I trained incredibly hard that week, focusing on improving my grappling because I was determined to win. I wanted to defeat him and submit him. I invested a lot of effort, and now everything is disrupted. I feel disappointed and angry.”
While Mitchell is not the first public figure to make offensive comments about the Holocaust, Barzilay saw this as a chance to challenge him directly and make a statement.
Mitchell’s statements deeply offended many, but for Barzilay, they were a personal affront. This personal connection fueled his resolve to seek retribution on the mat.
“He uttered truly horrific things,” Barzilay stated. “My grandmother is a Holocaust survivor, and my grandfather lost his entire family during the Holocaust. His words are personal. I lost family because of the Holocaust. My grandmother is still alive and shares her experiences of the Holocaust. His statements deeply affected me.”
Barzilay was understandably upset and disappointed upon learning about Mitchell’s withdrawal from their grappling match. A potential positive outcome is that Barzilay hopes his friend and training partner, Jean Silva, can avenge him. Barzilay trains with Silva at Fighting Nerds in Brazil.
Barzilay believes Mitchell could have participated in both the grappling match and the UFC fight in April. He trusts that Silva will make Mitchell accountable for his words.
“For Jean, this fight is a direct path to the top 15,” Barzilay commented. “Jean is a future champion. I haven’t trained with anyone at Jean’s level in this weight class. He is on another level. He will defeat Bryce easily.”
“Perhaps the UFC disapproved of his participation in the grappling match. That’s a possibility. I also believe he was concerned about the grappling match itself. Maybe he feared I might break the rules and start striking him.”
With an undefeated record of 6-0 in LFA, a well-known promotion for sending fighters to the UFC, Barzilay anticipates joining his Fighting Nerds teammates in the UFC soon.
Above all, he hopes Mitchell will be in fighting condition after his bout with Silva because Barzilay intends to pursue a fight with Mitchell until they settle their differences.
“Just let me fight him,” Barzilay pleaded. “Whether it’s in Karate Combat, the UFC, or even a gym. I simply want to test myself against him. I want to fight this guy.”
“This is 100 percent personal. When he speaks about the Holocaust, he is talking about my family. My family perished in the Holocaust, they were murdered. My grandmother survived. It’s deeply personal. For me, facing Bryce Mitchell in my UFC debut sounds perfect.”
