Kron Gracie is making his return to the octagon after a 19-month layoff this Saturday on the main card of UFC 310 against Bryce Mitchell, surprising many with both the opponent and card placement.
Gracie aims to end a two-fight losing streak as he takes on a top-15 ranked UFC featherweight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In his last fight, Gracie suffered a lopsided decision loss to Charles Jourdain at UFC 288 in March 2023. Despite the criticism regarding his main card placement over fights like Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling, Gracie remains unfazed.
Gracie points out that the decision on the bout placement was not his, and he has a message for fans who are unhappy with the UFC’s choice.
“I think it’s funny because the people always have something to say,” Gracie told MMA Fighting. “And it’s interesting that people who would complain about something like that are probably the people who are not even paying for the pay-per-view, they’re streaming it for free. You’re stealing the pay-per-view and they’re the ones complaining about where the fight is. If anything, [Sterling vs. Evloev is] a free fight for the fans that they get to watch sooner. I don’t see why it’s such a big deal obviously because I don’t really care about that kind of situation.
“But I think that the placement of the fight is kind of not the most important thing and I don’t care where I’m at on the card. The sooner, the better really. I get to go on with my life after that.”
In his debut UFC fight, Gracie submitted Alex Caceres in the first round in February 2019. He returned eight months later to face Cub Swanson, resulting in a unanimous decision loss. After a three-year hiatus, he fought Jourdain in his most recent bout.
Now facing Mitchell, Gracie believes that fans upset about his main card placement may find it more appealing with Mitchell as his opponent.
“Obviously the UFC knows what they’re doing and they’re in the business of making fights and matchmaking,” Gracie said. “So no one does it better than them. I’m sure they didn’t do this on spitefulness. I’m sure that this is a business deal and it is what it is, you know? …
“I didn’t make this decision, and Bryce is a big name too. I’ve always had Bryce on my mind because I always thought he was a potential opponent because I knew he had a big name, so I don’t see why he wouldn’t be on the main card.”
After his loss to Jourdain, Gracie explained his performance in a statement on Instagram and expressed his desire to return to his successful ways in combat sports.
Gracie was eager to return to the octagon sooner but faced obstacles. As he prepares for his fourth UFC appearance, he remains confident in his abilities and decision-making.
“Well I learned that lesson right away,” Gracie explained. “I learned it as soon as the fight was over. I’ve always fought, I’ve always been kind of my [own] head coach and made my, my decisions and everything’s gone well. In my whole life, even with jiu-jitsu, I was running my own jiu-jitsu training and with MMA, I always had people around me helping me and supporting me, but I ultimately made my own decisions and this was kind of not my decision to make and I paid the price.
“I would have liked to come back and train and show people some of my skills sooner, but that didn’t happen. So now we’re here, over a year later, I’m happy to be able to come out and show my skills to the world and see what we can do.”
Mitchell makes his first octagon appearance of 2024, coming off a knockout loss to Josh Emmett in his last fight. Gracie sees Mitchell as a tough opponent and is prepared for the challenge on Saturday.
“Yeah, I mean, this is the fight business, you can be ready to expect anything,” Gracie said. “I grew up with this not as a spectator, I grew up with it being a reality. For my dad and for my grandfather and for me, and for everyone around me, it was always a reality of fighting. It’s never a joke. Some people think I take it too [seriously] and when it comes around, media people are like, ‘Oh, why are you not happy and joking about this?’ Because I know this. I know the severity of the fight game So it’s not a surprise to me that that happens and I’m kind of like really aware of that situation. That’s why I’m not always so happy about fighting.
“But Bryce is a tough opponent.
He is ranked in the top 15 and specializes in grappling, so this fight might be different from the ones I have had with strikers. It will be interesting to see how he approaches the fight – whether he will evade me or come at me aggressively. I believe it will be a good matchup.
As the level of competition rises, the quality of the fights also improves. This could work in my favor or against me, but it will definitely make for a more exciting fight. In my previous bout with Jourdain, he mostly evaded me and seemed afraid to engage. When an opponent is not as willing to fight as I am, it creates a challenging situation regardless.