Matt Mitrione entered the Octagon last Saturday night brimming with confidence. He left dementedly muttering cuss words to himself in frustration. The former NFL’er danced around Big Ben Rothwell like David did to Goliath, sniping at his lumbering opponent with pop shots before bouncing around on the balls of his feet again looking for another opportunity to strike.
For the first minute or so, Mitrione seemed to be getting the better of his stalking opponent, darting in and out of harm’s way with surgical precision while Rothwell grumpily lurched in pursuit. Then, something happened. A mistake that will haunt ‘Meathead’ for the rest of his career.
The Roufusport striking protege suddenly turned into a wrestler. Mitrione looked to use the element of surprise to catch Rothwell off guard with a takedown, but all it did was invite the 265-pounder to crank on his neck. With all his might, Rothwell began to twist and crank on Mitrione’s neck as if it were a champagne bottle cork, forcing his opponent to frantically tap out in desperation for a release.
The #13 ranked heavyweight took to Twitter to express his disappointment:
What an F’n disaster. I’m so disappointedi can’t even express it. A F’n shot? WTF? I felt great. Slick and dangerous. Then I do that.
— Matt Mitrione (@mattmitrione) June 7, 2015
I’d like nothing more than to hide my face, but that won’t accomplish anything. I’ma striker, it showed. Not wrestler, that showed too.
— Matt Mitrione (@mattmitrione) June 8, 2015
Despite the depressing loss, Meathead is looking to make amends in the Octagon as soon as possible:
Fully believe that I’m the best, most dynamic striker w TDD in my division. I made a split second dec. I’ll be slanging heavy leather soon
— Matt Mitrione (@mattmitrione) June 8, 2015
Mitrione’s loss to Rothwell will send the former footballer plummeting back down the heavyweight rankings while Big Ben has emerged as a villainous contender with his sights set on promotional gold.
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