UFC 288: Bryce Mitchell’s next fight booked, battles Jonathan Pearce on May 6

Bryce Mitchell will defend his Top 15 ranking against Jonathan Pearce at UFC 288 on May 6, 2023. MMAmania.com confirmed with multiple sources that UFC is targeting the Featherweight matchup between the No. 11-ranked contender (Mitchell) and Pearce, who is undefeated inside the Octagon (5-0) since 2020.

Mitchell confirmed the news on his own Instagram (BRKRZ was the first to report it). No location for the pay-per-view (PPV) event is known at this time.

Mitchell (15-1) is coming off his first professional mixed martial arts (MMA) loss at UFC 282 in Dec. 2022, getting mangled and strangled by the dynamic (and volatile) Ilia Topuria (watch highlights). Mitchell — who later revealed he was battling a bad illness ahead of the fight and could literally not afford to withdraw — was very emotional after the fight, even contemplating retirement.

Prior to his loss to Topuria, “Thug Nasty’ was riding a 15-fight win steak, with six of the wins coming inside the Octagon against notable names such as Edson Barboza, Andre Fili and Charles Rosa, among others.

Pearce (14-4), meanwhile, has been on an absolute roll since losing his UFC debut in 2019 against Joe Lauzon. “JSP” is coming off a beat down of Darren Elkins, capping off his 2022, where he went undefeated (3-0). Pearce would likely finally crack the Top 15 at Featherweight with a win over Mitchell.

So far, UFC 288 only has three other fights reported, including:

• Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush
• Johnny Munoz Jr. vs. Daniel Santos
• Khaos Williams vs. Ronaldo Bedoya

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