Bryce Mitchell turned up the heat on Ilia Topuria in December 2025 when the UFC lightweight champion announced he was stepping back from competition due to extortion attempts involving false domestic abuse allegations. Mitchell’s response came through an Instagram video.
Bryce Mitchell Fires Back at Ilia Topuria Over Domestic Abuse Allegations
Mitchell and Topuria fought at UFC 282 in December 2022, where Topuria submitted Mitchell via arm-triangle choke in the second round. After the victory, Topuria mocked Mitchell by wearing overalls, referencing Mitchell’s farm background in Arkansas. Mitchell brought this moment up directly in his December 2025 video, saying: “Remember when I faced Ilia, he came out on top, and afterward, he donned a pair of overalls to poke fun at me because I work on a farm and wear overalls?”
In the Instagram video, Mitchell leveled serious accusations at Topuria. He called him a “coward” and stated, “That coward puts his hands on a woman.” Mitchell framed his comments through a personal lens, explaining that he grew up without a father and would have preferred never meeting him rather than seeing him hit his mother. He then turned attention to Topuria’s parenting, saying, “You don’t deserve to see your child, man, because you laid hands on their mother.”
Mitchell also addressed what he viewed as Topuria’s pattern of marriages. He said: “Wives aren’t like belts; it’s not about collecting more. You’re meant to have one man and one woman become one. Yet here you are, working on your third wife, thinking they’re trophies to be won.”
The fighter incorporated religious messaging into his critique. Mitchell urged Topuria to “seek forgiveness, turn to Jesus Christ,” adding that those who abuse women “end up” in hell. He also suggested Topuria might struggle with alcohol, telling him to “reconsider your drinking habits.”
