Bantamweight fighter Bryce Mitchell’s public request at no cost medical help after breaking his nostril throughout coaching has uncovered what many fighters argue is a big hole in UFC medical health insurance protection. On Tuesday, October 29, 2025, Mitchell turned to social media to ask anybody in his hometown of Searcy, Arkansas, for assist resetting his fractured nostril after native docs quoted him $2,000 for the process.
UFC Fighter Bryce Mitchell Forced to Beg for Free Medical Help After Breaking Nose
In an Instagram video posted that morning, the US-born Mitchell appeared visibly distressed, his nose visibly misaligned with tissues stuffed in his nostrils to stop the bleeding. He explained the financial burden driving his unusual request. “Dude, the doctors are so expensive. They’re like $2,000, or some sh*t just to set my nose,” Mitchell said in the video. “Can somebody, by the grace of Go,d please set my nose back straight for free? If you could fix my nose for free in Arkansas right now, send me a message and I’ll probably go to you instead of the doctor because this is probably going to be like thousands of dollars.”
The video and Mitchell’s caption studying “searcy can anybody assist me please? can a dr reset this for me? i dont have medical insurance coverage unwell pay money if u need cash” shortly circulated throughout social media platforms. What started as an area cry for assist quickly caught the eye of former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, who responded publicly on Instagram with pointed criticism aimed on the promotion itself.
“Well I was wrong……. you have to have a fight booked to get medical from the UFC lmao what a joke,” Strickland commented.
Since 2011, the UFC has supplied all fighters beneath contract as much as $50,000 annually in unintended harm protection and separate event-related medical protection for fight-night accidents. Nonetheless, this insurance coverage applies particularly to accidents sustained throughout sanctioned fights, official UFC-sanctioned coaching camps, or unintended accidents that might forestall a fighter from competing for his or her scheduled purse. Accidents occurring throughout private coaching periods outdoors of the promotion’s direct oversight fall right into a grey space. The state of affairs raises questions on whether or not fighters like Mitchell, who was coaching independently somewhat than in a UFC-sanctioned camp forward of a scheduled bout, qualify for protection.
Mitchell’s situation took place while he was not actively preparing for an upcoming fight. He had competed as a bantamweight against Said Nurmagomedov on July 26, 2025, at UFC on ABC 9, winning by unanimous decision. The gap between his last fight and his nose injury meant he was training on his own schedule without the protection of a fight-specific medical arrangement.
Strickland’s critique got here on the heels of his earlier commentary about fighter compensation. Earlier in October 2025, he had criticized the UFC’s method to fighter pay, noting that the promotion pays low base salaries, usually $10,000 to indicate and $10,000 to win for much less established fighters, whereas signing billion-dollar broadcast agreements.
Mitchell‘s state of affairs finally resolved itself. The fighter posted an replace on social media expressing gratitude and confirming he was doing effectively. “I’m doin nice. Thank yall im able to fite wen they name dont fear the present should go on,” he wrote. Experiences point out that Mitchell discovered native help to deal with his harm with out paying skilled medical charges, although particular particulars about who supplied the assistance weren’t disclosed.
