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The soon-to-be former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria was recently asked about the controversial Bryce Mitchell's belief in the Flat Earth conspiracy. For context, 'Flat Earth' is an archaic conception of Earth's physical shape, widely regarded as disproven in the scientific community.
However, Mitchell is known for his ardent belief in Flat Earth, which has drawn taunts and mockery from other fighters. This time, it was the Spanish phenom's turn to offer his thoughts on Mitchell's unconventional beliefs. The conversation took place on the PBD Podcast.
"He's like, I don't know, crazy guy. The Earth is flat and what? Okay, just suppose the Earth is flat. What we do with that information, bro? What the f*ck are you talking about?"
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Check out Ilia Topuria dismissing Bryce Mitchell's Flat Earth belief (31:03):
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Another fighter who scoffed at Mitchell's belief in the Flat Earth conspiracy theory is former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland. Despite the general dismissal of the notion, Flat Earth has achieved a certain level of appeal in the MMA and combat sports world in general.
While Mitchell is MMA's most well-known proponent of the conspiracy theory, former UFC middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa is another supporter of the idea, as is 10th Planet jiu-jitsu founder Eddie Bravo, and UFC featherweight Kron Gracie, who 'Thug Nasty' last defeated via knockout at UFC 310.
As for Topuria, he is more concerned with securing a lightweight title, as he continues to poke and taunt Islam Makhachev for a fight, claiming that he can both knock him out and submit him as well.
Ilia Topuria was the first man to defeat Bryce Mitchell
Before UFC 282, Bryce Mitchell was an undefeated featherweight. Unfortunately, when he crossed swords with Ilia Topuria, he was out of his depth. The Spaniard battered him for two rounds, before stunning both the fans and commentary team by submitting 'Thug Nasty,' the grappler, with an arm-triangle choke in round two.
This gave Topuria the distinction of being the first fighter to beat Mitchell. However, it wouldn't be his final time scoring a first, as he has since gone on to become the first, and thus far, only man to knock Max Holloway out, which he did at UFC 307.
