It was rather obvious that Matt Mitrione wanted to keep his Heavyweight fight with Philip De Fries standing when the pair collided at UFC on FUEL TV 9, which took place at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 6, 2013.
The highlight video up above is just proof positive.
Once regarded as the most promising Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight prospect, Mitrione suffered back-to-back losses to Cheick Kongo and Roy Nelson. "Meathead" has not experienced the thrill of Octagon victory since he finished Christian Morecraft back in June 2011 -- almost two years.
Unsurprisingly, Mitrione was a little excited:
"I was out for 14 months, and I’m coming off of two losses in a row, so it was a really emotional victory. Everything about it was really emotional. I was so elated. It was just a beautiful feeling."
And Mitrione needed just 19 seconds to do it after De Fries -- a submission specialist -- attempted to get the fight on his terms. Unfortunately for the Englishman, Mitrione is perhaps the most fleet-footed and nimble mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter in the division, easily stuffing the attempt and turning the tables with a quickness.
Mitrione has more than likely been searching for answers without any clues over the last 24 months, during which he went from boom to bust in a New York minute. He picked up an important one last night; however, In the grand scheme of things, stopping De Fries probably is neither meaningful nor all that impressive.
Regardless, it's a step in the right direction that perhaps can get the fun-loving former National Football League (NFL) player humming, buzzing and winning once again.
For more details on the brief encounter between Matt Mitrione vs. Philip De Fries at UFC on FUEL TV 9 click here. And to check out complete UFC on FUEL TV 9 results and play-by-play coverage click here.
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