Matt Mitrione, one of three fighters to be released by Bellator
Matt Mitrione has been released from his Bellator contract after four losses and a no contest in his last five outings.
Bellator officials confirmed on Monday that Mitrione had parted ways with the company alongside Ronny Markes and Adil Benjilany after Bellator 262 this past Friday. Mitrione and Markes are without comment at this time, however, Benjilany’s cornerman and UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad confirmed his fighter’s decision was made by their team on the grounds of inactivity.
Mitrione suffered his fifth consecutive setback on the promotion’s last card, submitting to punches in the first round of his fight against Tyrell Fortune. A decision Mitrione was unhappy with after a clash of heads during the final sequences of the contest. Prior to this defeat he had sustained losses to Ryan Bader, Sergei Kharitonov and Timothy Johnson, while a no contest to Kharitonov also came between.
Mitrione made his Bellator debut back in June 2016, winning four straight before his recent decline, with victories over Carl Seumanutafa, Oli Thompson, Fedor Emelianenko and Roy Nelson.
The 43-year-old Matt Mitrione had previously competed for the UFC from 2009 to 2016 and will be remembered fondly for his antics during his time on the Ultimate Fighter’s tenth season, ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights’.
