Matt Mitrione leaves UFC and signs with Bellator

Mitrione is leaving the UFC. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

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The UFC saw yet another fighter leave its roster and sign a contract with rival organization Bellator. After Phil Davis, Josh thomson and Benson Henderson, it was heavyweight Matt Mitrione's turn to say goodbye to the octagon and join the group of athletes led by Scott Coker.

The official announcement was made by Mitrione himself on the podcast “The MMA Hour”. “I signed a contract for four fights and I’m very happy. In fact, I will earn twice as much as I did in the UFC,” he explained.

The 37-year-old American entered Ultimate through TUF 10, a reality show in which he was eliminated in the quarter-finals. Since then, Mitrione has had all 14 of his professional MMA fights in the UFC, with nine wins and five losses.

Among his most famous victims are Kimbo Slice, Derrick Lewis and the former title challenger Gabriel Napao. His last two fights, however, were negative, with losses to Ben Rothwell and Travis Browne. In the most recent update of the official UFC rankings, Mitrione appeared in 13th place among heavyweights.