David Mitchell briefly resigned himself to a future that including dealing cards and fading off into the sunset. Then he realized there was something else that needed to be done first.

“I was like, ‘Well what do I have to do? How am I going to make money?'” Mitchell told MMAjunkie. “I got on Facebook, and I said, ‘Who’s the No. 1 promoter in the region?’ People connected me with Brandon Ware and made the fight with Fernando Gonzalez, and then I went on a seven-fight winning streak, just calling out guys.”

That was two years ago, and Mitchell had just completed a disappointing five-fight UFC run in which “Bulletproof” never quite delivered on the promise he had shown while building an 11-0 mark as an impressive middleweight prospect on the regional scene.

His UFC release led Mitchell to seek a different perspective on the fight game, and he started to embrace the role that social media can play in helping a fighter to build a career. So the submission ace polished up his troll game and went on a matchmaking spree.

“In 2014 and 2015, I made a living on Facebook, calling people out and making them fight me,” Mitchell said. “Jamie Jara, Fernando Gonzalez, Michael Gonzalez – a couple of those guys stepped up. But mostly, I had to blast people to get them to fight me so I could make money. Nobody wanted to fight me.”

The strategy paid off, and Mitchell built a seven-fight winning streak, a run that included seven finishes – including five in the first round.

Mitchell said UFC officials began to show interest in a potential return to the octagon, but he declined, perhaps to his own detriment.

“I turned down two offers, to be perfectly honest,” Mitchell said. “I was managing myself, and it probably wasn’t the smartest thing from a business standpoint, but I had a lot of emotion involved. … Fighting in Sacramento was just amazing, and then I didn’t want to take the call-up. I wanted to finish cleaning out the region because the other guys were talking smack, and I pretty much beat them all.

“I fought down at Tachi Palace. Dave Huckaba and Max Griffin were both posting things on my Facebook wall about how they hope I lose. So when they asked me after the (Angel DeAnda) fight, ‘Are you ready for the UFC?’ I was like, ‘Nope. Im going to whoop Max Griffin and whoop Dave Huckaba.’ I’m halfway there. Saturday I get to finish the job, and now I’ll be ready to go up to the big show.”

Mitchell returns to action at Saturday’s West Coast Fighting Championship 16 event, which takes place at McClellan Conference Center in Sacramento, Calif. The card streams via online pay-per-view.

Mitchell and Griffin headline the card in a bit of a grudge match, one built over time – and Facebook, of course.

A June 2015 loss halted Mitchell’s impressive winning streak, and he now looks to build another. And as a new father, the 36-year-old believes he’s in the right place to fulfill a bit of potential that it appeared had been left on the table.

“I was just in kind of a negative place in my life and was struggling with different personal things,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t really train right or really have the desire to win like I’ve regained now.

“I’ve been fighting a very long time, and I feel like I bring a certain value. I feel like now, especially, that I’ve gotten used to the media – I’ve been doing this game for 10 years – that I’m ready to be a rock star now. I’m ready to be on the next level and just to rock out and enjoy the experience and just go on an amazing win streak, another seven or eight in a row. And I’m 36 years old. At that point, maybe I’m done. I don’t know. But I’ve got another good run in me, and I plan on making the drive for that belt.”

And that belt, of course, is the one currently held by Luke Rockhold. While he’s excited to headline this weekend’s West Coast Fighting Championship event, it’s the potential of another octagon run that’s truly driving Mitchell right now.

“I want to maybe get a rematch in my career – maybe go back to MGM Grand and fight Mike Pierce again and knock his ass out this time,” Mitchell said. “I’ve got some fight left in me. I’m motivated. I think being a father has helped me to stay motivated, and I’m ready to just whoop some ass.

“Nobody wants to mess with my ground game. Now I feel like I’m almost more dangerous on my feet. The only person that can really beat David Mitchell is me. I fell like I’m ready to go for another run.

“You learn some lessons along the way, and hopefully you don’t make the same mistakes. I feel like I’ve grown as a person, as an athlete, and I’m now a father. I was just having a good time before and wasn’t really ready to take the call before when Joe Silva called me. Now I am. I’m really just focused 100 percent on mixed martial arts. Obviously I don’t have forever, so let’s go!”

To hear more from Mitchell, check out Episode No. 42 of “The MMA Road Show with John Morgan.”