Former The Ultimate Fighter star Bryce Mitchell is set to make the second appearance of his UFC career following a long injury layoff after he ripped his scrotum with a power drill during a DIY day that went badly wrong.
Unsurprisingly, given the nature of his injury, Mitchell admitted he'd been asked about the incident and his recovery a lot in the lead-up to his fight with Bobby Moffett at UFC Fight Night in Nashville, Tennessee, this weekend.
"People have been drilling me with that question," joked Mitchell during a pre-fight interview with MMA Junkie.
"I wish I could forget about it [and] live it down. The worst part about it is I know people at the hospital. The girl who stitched my nuts up is my buddy's wife. They keep those rooms cold, so I ain't ever gonna hear the end of that sh*t.
"And my ex-girlfriend's sister worked at the hospital, so I know her. I could hear people talking behind the doors while I was getting stitched up. Literally, the nurses were all laughing at me. It was one of the worst experiences ever.
"I don't mind talking about it because I deserve to be made fun of - I really am that stupid. I didn't have a tool belt - I put the drill in my pants. But I was in a rush.
"The healing process was disgusting. My nuts were all ripped."
But despite his self-deprecating humor, Mitchell says the situation was an incredibly serious one at the time.
"It wasn't fun. I almost died," he said.
"I think if people saw how close I was to dying, they probably wouldn’t ask me about it.
"The truth of the matter is, your nuts get ripped off, you fall off a 20-foot ladder, you’re f*****g dead. I don’t got no neighbors; I’m f*****g dead. I should be dead.
"God or whatever was watching over me that day, because it could have been way worse. I'm just lucky that nothing way worse happened."
Mitchell received a little extra endorsement money during his injury layoff, thanks to a brief and small contribution by an underwear company. But now, after making a full recovery, he's ready to jump back into the octagon and compete again.
But he knows that, after such a high-profile, graphic injury, he'll have to talk about the time he ripped his scrotum for the rest of his career. And he's fine with it.
"I think people are always going to talk sh*t about it," he said.
"I guess I can’t blame them. Maybe some people will forget about it. Probably not, though!"