Ilia Topuria had a stand-out performance tonight at UFC 282, beating up Bryce Mitchell on the feet and besting him on the mat too on his way to a second round submission victory.
Round One:
Mitchell misses on a side kick. Three heavy punches from Topuria hit home. Now a leg kick from Topuria.
Kick upstairs attempted by Mitchell and then tries for a takedown, but Topuria stuffs it.
Counter right for Mitchell and tries to crash into range. Good punch from Topuria snaps Mitchell’s head back.
Another heavy right hand from Topuria. left hand for Mitchell. Topuria with a thudding punch. Front kick upstairs attempted by Mitchell. Another right hand from Topuria.
Mitchell looking for a takedown again, but not having any success so far. Mitchell with a front kick. Now a punch. He gets in cleaner on a takedown this time and walks Topuria over to the cage. He gets a trip to get him down for a split second before he pops right back up and soon after moves away.
Body punch from Mitchell. Right hand for Topuria and then another solid one. Now a knee to the body in close.
Topuria lands to the body. One-two for Mitchell and straight into a takedown. He battles for it and gets Topuria flat on his back in the middle of the Octagon.
Mitchell in his guard and looking to pass, but Topuria closes up his guard. Elbow strike from Mitchell, but not able to get anything else going before the round ends.
Round Two:
Topuria lands a solid left hand to start. Now a right hand lands too. Mitchell tries for a takedown, but it’s stuffed.
Big winging punches from Topuria, but he’s landing more than he’s missing. Another attempt at a takedown from Mitchell fails.
Mitchell lands a punch and tries for a takedown that doesn’t pay off. Mitchell bleeding from the nose. Now a nice couple of punches and a kick behind it from Mitchell.
Topuria hurts Mitchell with a big punch that sits him down. Topuria opts to follow him to the mat and is thinking about a submission, but then opts to just go for side control. He’s trying to improve his position, but Mitchell is able to scramble back to his feet.
Topuria matching forward confidently though and throwing more heavy leather, then ragdolls him to the canvas.
Topuria working for an arm triangle submission now and that’s it, Mitchell taps out at 3.10mins of the second round!
Big win for Topuria and he did it in style against a tough opponent, lighting him up on the feet throughout and also showing off strong grappling ability too. Impressive stuff.
