Five years ago, Matt Mitrione was a struggling NFL player battling several surgeries and searching for a way back into the league.

A short stint with the Minnesota Vikings was his saving grace, but he was forced out of football due to a recurring foot injuries and surgeries.

Matt Mitrione then found mixed martial arts. He wrestled at Purdue - where he was also an All-Big-10 defensive lineman - and trained martial arts growing up, but he was extremely raw heading into the Ultimate Fighter.

Mitrione didn’t win the season, but he made a splash when he debuted at The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights and defeated Marcus Jones by way of knockout early in the second round.

Meathead then stepped up the competition when he faced Kimbo Slice in his second ever MMA fight. Mitrione was a clear underdog heading into UFC 113, but he wore Slice down and won by TKO to shock the UFC and move to 2-0.

Since then, Matt Mitrione hasn’t looked back.

The heavy-handed heavyweight defeated Joey Beltran in his next fight at UFC 119. Meathead won the fight by unanimous decision while capturing the Fight of the Night award.

Mitrione kept trucking along as he defeated Tim Hague nearly four months later at UFC Fight Night 23. Meathead won by TKO in the first round. Mitrione broke his left hand in the bout but still earned the victory and went on to face Christian Morecraft on June 26, 2011 at UFC on Versus 4.

The fight was deemed Matt Mitrione's first legitimate test of his career. At 4-0, Mitrione once again came out victorious as he dominated the first round. His stand up stood out as he was able to land two knockdowns. Mitrione wore Morecraft down and eventually knocked him out at 4:28 in the second round.

After starting his career 5-0, the debate as to who Mitrione should face next began. Was he ready to step up and face Frank Mir or Kongo? Should he stick with a Dave Herman or Stefan Sturve.?

UFC decide to challenge the 32-year-old Mitrione with Kongo, who’s fresh off of arguably the fight of the year as he went from knocked out to knock out in a matter of seconds against Pat Barry.

Kongo brings heavy hands and a strong chin to the table and should test Mitrione. But he does have similar strengths to Mitrione, which will delay the inevitable questions about Meathead’s ground game.

He does have a tendency to keep his hands down on the defense, which Kongo’s striking could expose. But regardless of how he fares, Matt Mitrione's had a great start to his MMA career. He’s undefeated and in a way better place than he was five years ago as he battled injury.

Train with Matt Mitrione at TapouT VTC
Train with Matt Mitrione at TapouT VTC where he offers 10 different courses.
· Jab
· Angles for a Lefty
· Proper Angles for Inside Leg Kick
· Defense: Takedown Against Cage
· Sprawl
· Upside Guard Sweep
· Upside Down Guard to Ground and Pound
· Guard Pass
· Inverted Crucifix
· Knees From Side Mount

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