Dana White isn’t necessarily a big fan of Bryce Mitchell, who often finds himself wrapped around in controversies. Nevertheless, he and his UFC 314 opponent Jean Silva created a lot of buzz surrounding their fight, but ‘Thug Nasty‘ failed to stay in the winning column and suffered his fourth professional loss. Despite the loss, the UFC CEO seems appreciative of the fight Mitchell put up in Miami.

Bryce Mitchell’s flat-earth theory and making weird claims about the culprit of World War II have seen him get in hot waters with a number of people calling him out publicly. Even Dana White couldn’t resist but blast him for his controversial views, and for many, pairing Mitchell up against Jean Silva was the UFC’s plan in setting him up for failure.

However, Dana White seems pretty pleased with the Arkansas native for facing his challenges “like a man” despite the negativity he faced through the fight week, possibly stemming from controversial rants. Even though he lost, Bryce Mitchell remained in Dana White’s good books, who never hesitates to release fighters who get on his nerves.

“I expected a lot from that fight. I’ll tell you what I’ll say about Bryce Mitchell… He’s a grown man, stood his ground, came out and faced the media several times, came in her and fought, and I’m sure a lot of moments he’s had leading up to this fight, including tonight in the cage, he felt like his back was against the wall and stood up like a man and he fought and did his thing,” Dana White stated during the post-fight press conference.

This seems to be good news for Bryce Mitchell, as it remains to be seen if he triggers Dana White again with any other controversial statements in the future. Meanwhile, the 30-year-old opened up on his loss in a video message to his fans and followers. Here’s what he had to say.

Bryce Mitchell is happy to have kept his teeth

‘Thug Nasty’ warned Jean Silva that he was “barking at the wrong tree” prior to their fight, but the Brazilian didn’t listen. Silva, after putting Bryce Mitchell to sleep in the third round, ended the fight by barking at the 30-year-old while he lay unconscious on the mat. Was it offensive to shout at a downed opponent? For some people, maybe, but not for Mitchell, who owned up to his loss, and while he thanked the fans, Mitchell also recognized the fact that he needs to get better at his game.

“Thank God. He protected me. I didn’t lose my teeth, I’ve got no broken bones. I feel good about that, and fought as hard as I possibly could, I couldn’t have fought any harder,” Bryce Mitchell stated in a video he posted on Instagram. “I could have fought smarter, I’m going to go make some adjustments. I mean, he put me to sleep, so I had nothing left to give, I’m happy about that knowing that I tried my best. But I’ve got to get better. That’s just the lesson learned here, I’ve got to get better.”

It’ll be interesting to see what’s next for Bryce Mitchell as he’s yet to make it to the top 10. Regardless, let us know your thoughts on Dana White’s comments for the 30-year-old featherweight fighter.