Bryce Mitchell is a man of many opinions, and some of them are a little bit off. But after being brutally knocked out by Josh Emmett at UFC 296, he has some solid thought on how to improve post-KO protocols.
Mitchell was on the receiving end of many fans’ KO of the Year winner — a flatliner of a punch from Emmett, one of the hardest hitters in the lower weight classes. He was knocked completely out and then had what appeared to be a seizure before eventually regaining consciousness. This is where he feels the UFC could have done more to protect him as a fighter.
“I was watching the fight back for film study, when I saw how bad the knockout was, I watched the whole thing,” Mitchell said in an interview with ESPN. “I watched what they did with me afterward, and I was talking afterward and I was shaking hands and stumbling around. Dude, they need to immediately escort me out of there. I really do think that needs to be protocol.”
“Because from my standpoint, I can’t remember anything. I would much rather, say I get knocked out again, I’d much rather them escort me out of there as soon as I’m up on my feet, and I mean like up under the armpits, and not even talk to me or anything. Just get me out of there as quickly as possible.”
“They still did good, they had all those officials in there, and even though I was saying I was fine they did escort me out of there eventually,” he added. “But I don’t even think they should talk to me in that cage because I was probably arguing with them telling them ‘Oh I’m fine, I can walk.’ I don’t even know what I was saying. They need to get me out of the cage. And I’m glad that they did. That is how they need to do that, because as fighters they can stumble and fall and hurt their head even worse.”
Bryce is now going through his own six month concussion protocol which involves taking it easy and working on his home and family. This is the first knockout loss of his career, so hopefully it hasn’t rattled his brain too badly. If all goes according to plan, we’ll witness the return of “Thug Nasty” sometime mid-2024.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
