returns to the Octagon after a 19-month hiatus this Saturday on the main card of against where both the opponent and the card placement come as a surprise to many people.
Gracie looks to end a two-fight losing streak when he takes on a top-15 UFC featherweight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In his last outing, Gracie lost a lopsided decision to at in March 2023. 36-year-old Gracie admits his performance wasn't great, but that has led to a lot of backlash regarding his fight, with Mitchell failing in fights such as: vs. – a fight in the same division that could produce a title contender in 2025.
For Gracie, the fight placement wasn't his decision, but he has a message for fans unhappy with the UFC's decision.
“I think it’s funny because people always have something to say,” Gracie told MMA Fighting. “And it's interesting that the people who would complain about something like that are probably the people who don't even pay for pay-per-view but stream it for free. They steal the pay-per-view and they complain about where the fight is taking place. If any, [Sterling vs. Evloev is] A free fight for fans to see early. I obviously don't understand why this is such a big deal because I don't really care about situations like this.
“But I think the placement of the fight is not the most important thing and I don’t care where I am on the card. The sooner the better. After that I can move on with my life.”
In his first UFC fight, the son of the PRIDE veteran submitted in the first round in February 2019. Eight months later, Gracie returned against the longtime veteran and lost a unanimous decision before returning to the Jourdain fight after a three-plus year hiatus.
Now he faces Mitchell, and if fans are upset about him being on the main card, Gracie says it's an easier sell because Mitchell is the other half of the competition.
“Obviously the UFC knows what they’re doing and their business is putting on fights and getting partners,” Gracie said. “So no one does it better than them. I'm sure they didn't do this out of malice. I'm sure this is a business deal, and it is, you know? …
“I didn’t make that decision and Bryce is a big name too. I always had Bryce in mind because I always thought he was a potential opponent because I knew he had a big name, so I don’t see why he wouldn’t be on the main card.”
After the loss to Jourdain, Gracie released a statement on his Instagram Stories explaining why the fight went the way it did and why he didn't throw any punches during the 15-minute affair.
“In a life full of struggles, it was always a battle of life and death,” Gracie wrote. “I understand the situation and am willing to limit myself, although I didn't throw punches because of bad advice and tried to please the jiu-jitsu community two days before my fight. The first fight in my life I didn’t throw a punch and went back to my old habits.”
Gracie had hoped to return to the octagon sooner, but he says “life got in the way” and didn't want to elaborate. But heading into his fourth Octagon appearance, Gracie is adamant that he will return to his old school habits that have brought him success in martial arts over the years.
“Well, I learned that lesson right away,” Gracie explained. “I learned as soon as the fight was over. I always fought, I was always kind [own] Head coach and made my, my decisions and everything went well. I've done my own Jiu-Jitsu training all my life and in MMA I always had people around me to help me and support me, but ultimately I made my own decisions and that somehow wasn't mine Decision to make decision and I paid the price for it.
“I would have liked to have come back earlier to train and show people some of my skills, but that didn't happen. Now here we are, over a year later, and I’m happy to show the world my skills and see what we can do.”
Mitchell will make his first Octagon appearance in 2024. In his last fight, “Thug Nasty” was the victim of one of the most brutal and scary knockouts in UFC history with an overhand right at in December 2023.
Gracie viewed Mitchell's knockout loss not as a wake-up call, but as another stark reminder and acceptance of how dangerous the fight game can be. Regardless of what happened a year ago, Gracie is ready for a game opponent on Saturday.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s the fight business, you can expect anything,” Gracie said. “I grew up with it, not as a spectator, I grew up with it being reality. For my father, my grandfather, me and everyone around me, it was always a reality of struggle. It's never a joke. Some people think I'll take it too [seriously] And when the time comes, media people say, “Oh, why aren't you happy and not joking about it?” Because I know that. I know the severity of the fighting game. So it's no surprise to me that this is happening and I'm kind of really aware of this situation. That's why I don't always enjoy fighting as much.
“But Bryce is a tough opponent. He's top 15, he's a grappler, so maybe it could be a different fight than the striking guys I've fought. So we'll see how he approaches this fight. We don't know if he's going to run away or try to attack me, and I think it's just a good confrontation.
“I think in general the better the guys get, the better the fight will be, and that could be good or bad for me, but I think that will produce a better fight. Not to go after Jourdain or anything, and I had a crappy performance, but he just ran away. He was terribly afraid of me. So if someone is not willing to fight as much as me, it will definitely be a difficult fight.”
