Josh Emmett Discusses ‘Hard to Celebrate’ KO of Bryce Mitchell

Rather than celebrate the most impressive knockout of his career, Josh Emmett sat silently across the cage.

Emmett (19-4) put out Bryce Mitchell’s lights with a violent overhand right less than two minutes into the opening frame of their meeting in the main card opener at UFC 296 on Saturday in Las Vegas. The brutality of the knockout sunk in as Mitchell, now 16-2, could be seen convulsing on the canvas moments later and was still on wobbly legs while being helped out of the Octagon. What would otherwise have been cause for celebration—a knockout sure to win a “Performance of the Night” bonus from the UFC, and the end of the first losing streak of Emmett’s career—instead became a somber moment.

The Team Alpha Male representative said during the post-fight media scrum that only after the initial rush of emotion did he realize the damage he had inflicted on his opponent. “When I hit him I got excited and then and I looked over and he’s still down and it’s like it’s hard to celebrate. So I just wish him nothing but the best, I know he has a baby on the way, he’s building a house, we’re all trying to achieve the same thing. You know, I wish no harm on my opponents but at the end of the day, if its him or I, I’m choosing me every day.

“I didn’t know he was that hurt, then I looked over and I see that and I’m like, f--k man, I can’t, I can’t celebrate,” he added. “Because it's tough. Imagine what his coaches are looking at. They are seeing him in a very vulnerable spot, and I can’t even imagine his family, what they’re thinking. So yeah, I wish him nothing but the best. He came back and said he was okay. I just hope he takes some time off, he’s a super talented individual and young, hungry, he’ll bounce back.”