Charles Rosa is giving Bryce Mitchell a stern warning about going to the mat with him.
Rosa (12-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is set to face Mitchell (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 249 on May 9 – assuming the event happens – in a matchup between two of the most prolific submission artists in the featherweight division.
Mitchell is coming off a “Submission of the Year” in his last outing, but Rosa is unfazed. He, too, is coming off a first-round submission, making a successful return to the octagon vs. Manny Bermudez after a more than two-year layoff.
While many are expecting this to be a ground affair, Rosa says Mitchell should think twice about taking it there.
“I mean, that’s on him,” Rosa told MMA Junkie. “If he wants to take it to the ground, you can guarantee he’s getting one of his limbs ripped off, or he’s getting choked out. I mean, that’s a fact. If the fight goes to the ground for more than a 30-second period, he’s either going to sleep, or he’s gonna get his arm popped. And if he doesn’t tap, then I’m gonna go after the other one.
“There’s really been no UFC fight that anyone has wanted to take it to the ground with me, and you see what happens when they do. They get submitted. The only two people that have done that were Sean Soriano and Manny Bermudez – went to the ground with me, and they got submitted.”
The fight between the two actually came together through some back-and-forth banter on Twitter, and while there’s no ill-will on Rosa’s side. It’s all business in the cage for him.
“I mean, the truth is, I respect him a lot as a martial artist,” Rosa said. “I respect that he’s a tough kid, and I do respect what he does, but when it comes in the cage, all that respect goes away. When it comes to me fighting him, I mean, he’s my enemy right now. I’m not his friend right now, and that’s how I really feel. I mean, I’m going in there to take his head off, and I’m sure he’s going to be doing mine.
“I really like the matchup of having like a country boy vs. a city boy. It’s something I always grew up as a kid, wondering who’s tougher – a country kid or a city boy.”