It take a lot of stones to stand calmly in front of a 6-foot-6, 261-pound giant. Matt Mitrione, a former NFL player and college star at Purdue doesn't lack for confidence and it showed from the get-go against Christian Morecraft. An alum of Season 9 of "The Ultimate Fighter," Mitrione headhunted throughout and pounded out his opponent with a clean 1-2 that knocked Morecraft silly at 4:28 of the second round in the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Morecraft was out on the way down. Mitrione couldn't jumped on top and inflicted more damage, but backed off. Once Mitrione landed the right hook and left straight down the pipe, Morecraft crumbled to the canvas and lost his mouthpiece.
"I figured I gotta finish this off when he came and got me," Mitrione talked about rocking Morecraft in the first and backing off a bit. "This time I saw his eyes roll back. I knew he was done. I understand this is a sport and we're [gladiators] and bloodthirsty, but you don't do [expletive] like that."
Mitrione picked apart Morecraft from the start. The bigger man was simply too slow. As more top-notch athletes get into the sport, it's scary to see how quickly they pick up all the elements of mixed martial arts. Boxing may be one of the toughest to learn. Especially on how to use a jab and staying relaxed. Mitrione's a natural.
"All I can say about my hands is I piss excellence� and I just get used to it. Sorry everybody I piss excellence," joked Mitrione. "It's what I do."
Mitrione, who entered TUF 10 with zero professional fights, is now 5-0 in the UFC. He was taken down twice and handled it calmly. Clearly, the work he put in with Xtreme Couture, a renowned MMA camp in Las Vegas. paid off.
Mitrione is a quirky personality, who's come a long way from a premature end to his NFL career. The defensive tackle suffered some awful ankle and achilles injuries as he held spots on the roster of the San Francisco 49ers, N.Y Giants and Minnesota Vikings. It's look like he's now found a new athletic career.
"My personal life has been rollercoaster. This sport keeps me focused and driven. I thank you guys so much. All the support, even though people don't know it, the things they say from 'The Ultimate Fighter' until mow makes me feel so good about myself� and where my life is headed," said Mitrione.
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