For a few moments after being slept by Josh Emmett in their clash at UFC 296, it seemed Bryce Mitchell’s UFC career may be over. But why? Well, the devastation wrecked upon by Emmett’s right hand was such that the Arkansas native started having convulsions while being separated from his consciousness. This is what shock brain damage can do to you! And if it had been a bit more serious, it may well have meant the end of his fighting career. Thankfully, it wasn’t.

But Mitchell’s upcoming UFC 314 opponent, Jean Silva thinks he might be the one to end the American’s career. The Brazilian was speaking to reporters on the media day for the April 12 event, where he was asked how he thought the fight would play out. And while there is a lot of bad blood between ‘Thug Nasty’ and the Brazilian striking dynamo, Silva was pretty complimentary of the American’s fighting abilities. However, ‘Lord’ did feel he could knock out the grappler, and do so so violently that Mitchell is forced to retire.

“He’s an excellent fighter. Listen, he’s fought Ilia Topuria. He beat Edson Barbosa and Dan Ige. Everything was going good [for Mitchell’s career] until he got knocked out by Josh Emmett. And I think that really messed up his brain and his emotions and everything just went wrong, you can tell he’s not looking at this the same way he used to look at it before,” Silva said during the UFC 314 media day presser.

“You can tell it really messed him up, so the fights gonna go, he’s gonna try to take me down, I’m gonna defend it and I’m gonna throw some shots at his head. I might knock him out in the first or the second, we’ll see. But maybe he’ll need to retire after this because he’s gonna have some brain damage after this one,” ‘Lord’ added.

‘Thug Nasty’ was struggling in the Emmett fight in December 2023 from the first bell, with ‘CC0’ piecing the grappler up with his precision and remarkable speed. But disaster struck for Mitchell around the two-minute mark, when the ‘CC0’ rushed in from range and caught Mitchell with a nasty overhand right counter, knocking him out cold.

‘Thug Nasty’ crashed to the ground, toes curled, and started convulsing, sending Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier into a tizzy. The commentators were shaken and incredibly concerned at seeing the American striker having what looked like a seizure and were very unhappy at seeing him get up and walk out of the Octagon on his feet. Even Dana White rushed to the Octagon to check up on Mitchell and stood morose-faced beside Mithcell as the American was freaking out over the loss.

This is why this fight is so important for ‘Thug Nasty’. Many fear that after that brutal knockout, Mitchell may never be the same again. A win over Silva will not only help him get closer to the title shot but also silence anyone who thinks he is not the same fighter he was before his UFC 296 encounter. But most importantly, this fight, for both men who are devout Christians, is about who has God on their side.

Why is Bryce Mitchell and Jean Silva’s UFC 314 clash a holy war for both men?

Things have gotten personal between Mitchell and Silva in the lead-up to their fight. Mithcell, of course, is a flat-earther and had even called out Joe Rogan to a debate where he claimed he would prove that the earth is indeed flat. And Silva, to troll ‘Thug Nasty’, brought a globe to a UFC 314 press conference last month, and started a “f–k Bryce Mitchell” chant there. As you can imagine, the Arkansas native was mad. Moreover, he felt that it showed Silva didn’t follow one of Jesus’ most important teachings. And that is loving thy neighbor and even thy enemy!

“He doesn’t treat me with respect… So I go based off of that. Based off my interactions with him, he does not have Jesus in his heart because he treats me like total shit and I’m not afraid to say that to his face… And it’s not going to be fun when he’s having his face smashed in,” Mitchell complained to ‘MMA Fighting’ in a recent interview.

But Silva isn’t having any of it. ‘Lord’ was asked his thoughts on ‘Thug Nasty’s aforementioned comments, where he claimed that Mitchell was the disrespectful one who ‘contradicted’ his alleged love for God with his actions.

“I never disrespected him as a fighter, his skills or his abilities. He’s fought really tough guys in the UFC. But, you know, it actually upsets me that, you know, he can believe whatever he wants to believe but it upsets me that he doesn’t see the position that he’s in as a public person, and doesn’t mind his words, and disrespects people and children and everything else. He talks a lot about God but he wears you know a t-shirt with God with guns around it so that that makes no sense to me, so, yeah, it’s a lot of contradiction,” Silva said at the latest UFC 314 presser.

As you can see, the fight is much more than just a way to progress in the rankings for both men. It’s personal and spiritual for them at this point. Throw in their incredibly interesting grappler vs. striker matchup, and you have the potential for an absolutely electrifying, all-time fight. What do you think about Jean Silva’s comments about possibly ending Bryce Mitchell’s UFC career?