Bryce Mitchell Spews Conspiracy Theories on The MMA Hour

Bryce Mitchell hijacked The MMA Hour this week to discuss his opinions on COVID-19 vaccinations, school shootings and his right to bear arms.

Mitchell was scheduled to appear on the show to discuss his upcoming bout with Edson Barboza on March 5. Unfortunately that was not the case. After Ariel Helwani’s introduction, Mitchell immediately placed himself in front of an American flag with two guns on display and began to quiz Helwani on the purpose of owning the weapons in the background.

Thus began a back-and-forth that allowed Mitchell to spew conspiracy theories and propaganda on subjects without detailed evidence outside of what he picked up from Las Vegas cab drivers.

“We’re Armed to the Teeth”

Mitchell’s first argument came in support of the second amendment, the right to bear arms. It was just a round-about way to get to his real statement; that COVID-19 mandates are unconstitutional and that he would use his right to bear arms as a way to prevent the government from injecting “what they say is medicine” into his body.

“Before the Holocaust in 1938, Hitler banned Jews in Germany from having guns. There’s a reason he did that. He wanted to disarm the population before he rounded them up and killed them,” Mitchell said. “So when I talk about why these guns are important, you’ve got to know why we’ve got these guns. Of course, it’s to hunt. Of course, it’s to protect ourselves from people that break into our homes. But the reason that they’re really here is to protect ourselves from our own government. It’s to overthrow a tyrannical government.

“And these guns on either side of me, that’s the reason that in Arkansas, they don’t have forced vaccines. They don’t have forced mandates. You can’t force ’em. They don’t have the power. If you go up and down my street, every single one of me and my neighbors is armed to the teeth, brother. I mean, I could sit here and—you’ve got the Underwoods, you’ve got the Mitchells, you’ve got the Palmers, you’ve got the Wests, the Browns, the Smiths, the Jameses, the Harrises, we’re armed to the teeth, brother. And we will not let this government inject what they say is medicine into our body without our consent.”

More Unsubstantiated Claims?

This is far from the first time Mitchell has made unfounded statements regarding the Coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines. In March 2020 as the pandemic started to cause worldwide lockdowns, Mitchell took to social media to claim that the virus was created by the government to cause chaos.

Throughout the interview, Mitchell made his feelings on COVID-19 vaccinations known, including a radical claim that Ivermectin works much better against COVID than vaccines, but the vaccines make more money, which is why they are being pushed by the government.

‘Thug Nasty’ didn’t stop there. On his conspiracy theory tour, he even suggested that his second amendment rights were in jeopardy as the government is staging mass shootings to remove his right to bear arms. Mitchell specifically talked about the 2017 mass shooting that occurred in Las Vegas at the Route 91 Harvest music festival. The lone shooter, Stephen Paddock, killed 60 people and over 800 more were injured in the ensuing panic. Mitchell insisted that the government was involved as there had to have been more than one shooter involved. He also said his only sources for these claims are Las Vegas cab drivers.

“My number one explanation is that the government in a lot of these. They have an agenda, they set up mass shootings and blame the AR-15s,” said Mitchell. They say ‘Oh, now we’re coming to take your AR-15s now’. Let me tell you why they haven’t taken away the AR-15s, cause this is God’s land, they cannot. They do not have the power to take away these AR-15s. They have been trying and trying and trying, the people are too strong. I would die before I hand these guns over to my government.”

Mitchell continued claiming that there is no such thing as a “gun problem,” but a “mental health problem” that leads to gun violence.

And to put a cherry on top of the wacky interview, Mitchell repeated claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged despite multiple investigations at the state and federal level finding no truth behind it.

Agreeing to Disagree

It can be said that throughout the interview, Mitchell maintained a respectful tone towards Helwani, but it was clear the two were at odds with one another as Helwani openly disagreed with much of Mitchell’s unsubstantiated claims.

“Thug Nasty” has every right to use his time and his platform to speak his mind on any subject he chooses so long as it’s done in a manner that does not harm or infringe upon the rights of others. Helwani handled a tough situation with grace and respect throughout, but MMA fans were less forgiving on social media. It’s safe to say that Edson Barboza has a lot more fans leading into their March 5 bout.

There is good news for Mitchell; if fighting doesn’t work out for him, he will likely have a job waiting for him at Fox News.