Matt Mitrione is heading to Bellator MMA. The former NFL player turned MMA fighter announced on Monday in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that he’d agreed to terms with the organization, and with the UFC opting not to match the terms he’ll make that his new fighting home.
It will be the first time in his fighting career that Mitrione will have fought outside of the UFC. The 37-year-old entered the organization through season ten of The Ultimate Fighter with no pro experience, and turned that into a 14-fight tenure.
Mitrione went 9-5 through that time, ending his run with consecutive losses to Ben Rothwell and Travis Browne, the latter of which is still being contested.
Penick’s Analysis: Mitrione in Bellator makes sense if he’s getting paid, and though their heavyweight field doesn’t have much to speak of at this stage, there are a number of fights available to him. He’s developed into a solid fighter overall throughout his time in the UFC, and he’s going to be competitive with whomever he winds up fighting in the Bellator cage.
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The more interesting story is that he’s also going to be doing analysis on Bellator Kickboxing, which reveals exactly what Viacom’s interests are there.