Bryce Mitchell crosses the line with the Topurias: “Your brother’s a bastard too. I’ll beat the hell out of him.”

Bryce Mitchell has gone too far. In MMA, there is an unwritten rule when it comes to trash talk used to hype a fight: family, religion, and deeply personal matters are off-limits. This time, the American fighter ignored that code entirely.

In an apparent attempt to provoke a matchup with Aleksandre Topuria, Mitchell went after Ilia by referencing the recent legal case involving his ex-wife, who has accused him of domestic violence. The case is expected to involve a long and complex legal process.

During a livestream on social media, Mitchell unloaded on the younger of the Topuria brothers, showing no regard for the presumption of innocence. “That bastard puts his hands on a woman. I’d rather never see my father again than see him hit my mother,” said Mitchell, who fought Ilia back in 2022.

He did not stop there. Almost immediately, Mitchell dragged Aleksandre into the situation in what appears to be a highly questionable attempt to stir up a future fight between them. “I had to say it. You’re a real bastard. Your brother’s a bastard too. I’ll fight him. I’ll beat the hell out of him. You don’t deserve to see your kids, because you put your hands on their mother. You’re a coward. That’s disgusting,” he said.

Family is off-limits

Mitchell is far from the first fighter to cross this line by targeting an opponent’s family or sacred personal matters. The most infamous example remains Conor McGregor’s feud with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Ahead of what would become the most high-profile fight in MMA history, the Irishman mocked Khabib’s culture, insulted his father and his wife, and ridiculed his religious beliefs. The result was a deeply toxic buildup that ultimately spilled over into a full-scale brawl involving dozens of people inside the arena after the fight had ended.

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