Bryce Mitchell is open to fighting Movsar Evloev – but not in the short term

Bryce Mitchell is ready to face Movsar Evloev, but he needs time.

Evloev (18-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) needs a new opponent for UFC 307 on October 5 after Aljamain Sterling withdrew due to injury. Mitchell is ready for the fight, but only if he has time to prepare.

However, Mitchell (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) won't make the mistake of accepting another short-notice fight after being knocked out by Josh Emmett at UFC 296 in December.

“(Sterling) hurt his elbow,” Mitchell told The Schmo. “You know what happened the last time I won a fight on short notice. It was ugly. I'm smart enough to accept that I need a little more training. I want this fight. Give me two months and I'll be there. That's all I need.”

“Two months, and I think that's a fair demand. And if he really wants this fight, two months for what they're paying him isn't that long of a wait. He can survive two more months without a paycheck. I think he should fight me in two months.”

Mitchell makes it clear that he would not take the fight away from Sterling and would only face Evloev if the undefeated challenger did not want to wait too long. The two were scheduled to face each other twice – at UFC Fight Night 214 and then at UFC 288, but both times they fell apart.

“But I don't want to take the fight away from Aljo either,” Mitchell said. “I wouldn't take the fight away from Aljo. I'm friends with Aljo. So if Aljo doesn't want to fight him in a few months because he needs more time and they need someone, I'm the guy.”

“There's no bigger draw. Who else are you going to get to fight Movsar to fill the spots? Let's be realistic: I'm going to get people there. People want to see me fight Movsar, I want to kick his ass because he's acting like a little bastard to me.”

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.