Background

Mitrione was born in Bloomington, Illinois and raised in Springfield, Illinois. Attended Sacred Heart-Griffin High School for first 4 years where he competed in football, swimming and diving, and track and field & finished/graduated from Springfield Southeast High School. In football, Mitrione received Honorable Mention USA Today All-American & All-State honors in his senior year playing defensive line. Mitrione trained in Shotokan Karate as a child to help deal with his extreme hyperactivity. Mitrione even competed in Toughman Contests while he was still in high school, and finished second in his initial Toughman Contest in his hometown of Springfield. Mitrione attended Purdue University on a football scholarship and started 35 consecutive games for the Boilermakers at defensive tackle, but broke his right foot during winter conditioning a practice in his senior year. Mitrione went undrafted for the NFL, but was offered a contract with the New York Giants in 2002. After again injuring his foot in a 2003 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Mitrione had seven surgeries to his foot including one that extended his achilles tendon, and was in crutches for 16 months. Mitrione was released by the Giants in 2004 and then had brief stints with the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings, before being released by the Vikings six weeks into the 2005 season and a week before his first child was born. Mitrione soon turned to mixed martial arts after Jayson Werth, a professional baseball player for the Washington Nationals, and close friend of Mitrione, invited Mitrione to fight in his inaugural promotion. Mitrione then relocated with his family to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he began training with fighters Chris Lytle and Jake O'Brien.

Mixed martial arts career

The Ultimate Fighter

Mitrione appeared on the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter. On the show, he was given the unofficial nickname "Meathead" by his coach Rashad Evans. After being picked second to last by Evans, Mitrione fought and defeated Scott Junk via majority decision (19-19, 20-18, and 20-18), moving him on to the quarter finals.

Following Mitrione's fight with Junk, Mitrione complained about migraines and dizziness, causing many of the cast members to feel that Mitrione may bow out of the competition to give Kimbo Slice a second opportunity. Mitrione did fight and was eliminated by teammate James McSweeney in the quarterfinals, losing via guillotine choke.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Mitrione made his professional MMA debut at The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale defeating Marcus Jones via KO early in the second round.

Mitrione then faced another fellow Ultimate Fighter alumnus Kimbo Slice at UFC 113 in Montreal. Mitrone chopped Slice down with leg kicks and eventually defeated Slice via TKO (punches) in the second round, taking his professional record to 2-0.

Mitrione faced Joey Beltran on September 25, 2010 at UFC 119. He won the fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) and also won the "Fight of the Night" award.

Mitrione defeated Tim Hague on January 22, 2011 at UFC Fight Night 23 via TKO in the first round. It was mentioned during the post-fight interview that Mitrione had broken his left hand and later confirmed that he had injured the second metacarpal in his left hand.

Mitrione fought Christian Morecraft on June 26, 2011 at UFC on Versus 4. Mitrione dominated the first round with his standup scoring two knockdowns. Mitrione ended the fight via KO at 4:28 of round 2.

Mitrione suffered his first professional MMA loss to Cheick Kongo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-28, 29-28) on October 29, 2011 at UFC 137. Mitrione was unable to mount any consistent offense against Kongo on the feet as Kongo used his jab to keep Mitrione at bay, and in the third round Kongo secured a takedown and controlled Mitrione through the end of the fight.

Mitrione was expected to face Rob Broughton on August 4, 2012 at UFC on FOX 4. However, the bout was scrapped after Broughton pulled out for an undisclosed personal matter.

Mitrione/Broughton was briefly linked to UFC on FX 5 but was eventually scrapped altogether.

Mitrione was expected to face Phil De Fries on December 29, 2012 at UFC 155. But Mitrione was pulled out of the bout to step in for injured Shane Carwin against Roy Nelson at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale on December 15, 2012. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Mitrione vs. De Fries eventually took place on April 6, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV 9. Mitrione won the fight via knockout just 19 seconds into the first round.

On April 8, 2013 it was announced that Mitrione had his contract suspended by the UFC after making comments about male-to-female trangender fighter Fallon Fox during an interview on The MMA Hour. Mitrione called Fox a "lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak" who he hoped would never fight again, and referred to Fox by male pronouns. Mitrione also criticized the state of Florida for licensing Fox to fight. The suspension was lifted after two weeks when Mitrione's next fight against Brendan Schaub was announced.

Mitrione was expected to face Brendan Schaub on July 27, 2013 at UFC on Fox 8. However, in mid-July, Mitrione pulled out of the bout citing an injury and Schaub was pulled from the event as well. The bout eventually took place on September 21, 2013 at UFC 165. Schaub won the fight via first round submission, giving Mitrione the first submission loss of his professional MMA career.

Mitrione faced Shawn Jordan on March 1, 2014 at The Ultimate Fighter: China Finale. He won via knockout at 4:59 of the first round. The win also earned Mitrione his first Performance of the Night bonus award.

Mitrione was scheduled to face Stefan Struve on July 5, 2014 at UFC 175, but Struve collapsed in the locker room before the fight, leading to a cancellation.

Mitrione faced Derrick Lewis on September 5, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 50. Mitrione quickly defeated Lewis via first round knockout.

Mitrione faced Gabriel Gonzaga on December 13, 2014 at UFC on Fox 13. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. The win also earned Mitrione a Performance of the Night bonus award.

Mitrione faced Ben Rothwell on June 6, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 68. He lost the fight by submission in the first round.

Mitrione faced Travis Browne on January 17, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 81. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round, though the bout was mired in controversy, as Mitrione suffered multiple eye pokes from Browne throughout the fight. This was the last fight on Mitrione's contract.

Bellator MMA

On March 14, 2016, Mitrione announced he has signed with Bellator MMA.

Personal life

Mitrione is of Irish (mother, Cecelia) and Italian (father, Robert) descent. He has two sons and one daughter. He is no longer married to former wife, Tina. The couple divorced amicably in December 2014 after 9 years of marriage. Mitrione is friends with Drew Brees, as the two were teammates at Purdue University from 1997-2001 and members of Joe Tiller's first recruiting class. Mitrione is also close friends with NFL tight end Jeremy Shockey, who were teammates while playing for the New York Giants. Has casually competed in several eating competitions and lost miserably in all of them most recent being D.T. Kirby's 4th annual Wing Eating Contest.

Charity work

Mitrione has been involved with several other UFC fighters (Sean Pierson, Mark Hominick, and Sam Stout) as part of a Toronto area anti-bullying program. He went to SHG Highschool, and currently has a son named Ben there now

Championships and accomplishments

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Fight of the Night (One time)
  • Performance of the Night (Two times)

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
14 matches	9 wins	5 losses
By knockout	8	2
By submission	0	2
By decision	1	1

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	9-5	Travis Browne	TKO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz	000000002016-01-17-0000January 17, 2016	3	4:09	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Loss	9-4	Ben Rothwell	Submission (gogó choke)	UFC Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson	000000002015-06-06-0000June 6, 2015	1	1:54	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Win	9-3	Gabriel Gonzaga	TKO (punches)	UFC on Fox: dos Santos vs. Miocic	000000002014-12-13-0000December 13, 2014	1	1:59	Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win	8-3	Derrick Lewis	KO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs. Mousasi	000000002014-09-05-0000September 5, 2014	1	0:41	Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States
Win	7-3	Shawn Jordan	KO (punches)	The Ultimate Fighter China Finale: Kim vs. Hathaway	000000002014-03-01-0000March 1, 2014	1	4:59	Macau, SAR, China
Loss	6-3	Brendan Schaub	Technical Submission (D'arce choke)	UFC 165	000000002013-09-21-0000September 21, 2013	1	4:06	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	6-2	Philip De Fries	KO (punches)	UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi	000000002013-04-06-0000April 6, 2013	1	0:19	Stockholm, Sweden
Loss	5-2	Roy Nelson	TKO (punches)	The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale	000000002012-12-15-0000December 15, 2012	1	2:58	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	5-1	Cheick Kongo	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 137	000000002011-10-29-0000October 29, 2011	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	5-0	Christian Morecraft	KO (punches)	UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry	000000002011-06-26-0000June 26, 2011	2	4:28	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	4-0	Tim Hague	TKO (punches)	UFC: Fight for the Troops 2	000000002011-01-22-0000January 22, 2011	1	2:59	Fort Hood, Texas, United States
Win	3-0	Joey Beltran	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 119	000000002010-09-25-0000September 25, 2010	3	5:00	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Win	2-0	Kimbo Slice	TKO (punches)	UFC 113	000000002010-05-08-0000May 8, 2010	2	4:24	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win	1-0	Marcus Jones	KO (punch)	The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale	000000002009-12-05-0000December 5, 2009	2	0:10	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

Exhibition record breakdown
2 matches	1 win	1 loss
By knockout	0	0
By submission	0	1
By decision	1	0

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	1-1	James McSweeney	Submission (guillotine choke)	The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights		1	3:38	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	1-0	Scott Junk	Decision (majority)	The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights		2	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

[ Source: Wikipedia ]