#2 Matt Mitrione’s purple grapefruit-eye
Matt ‘Meathead’ Mitrione (11-5) is a former TUF contestant, former UFC top contender and current Bellator Heavyweight star; with an MMA base of kick-boxing, wrestling and karate. Travis ‘Hapa’ Browne (18-5-1) is a former basketball player who made a quick ascent to the UFC top-10, with wins over the likes of Stefan Struve and Alistair Overeem.
His MMA base is BJJ and boxing which he has trained in since 26 years of age. Mitrione faced Browne in what would be his last Octagon appearance before jumping ship to Bellator, at UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs Cruz in January of 2017.
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After having trouble with Mitrione’s speed and in-and-out karate-styled movement, Browne eye-raked his opponent multiple times throughout their three-round affair, starting with a first-round eye poke, after which Mitrione’s right eye began developing a horrific swelling.
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After suffering a Browne thumb to his right eye, Mitrione slowed down drastically, presenting his opponent a stationary target; getting taken down in the third round, en route to a TKO loss. Amidst a wave of boos from the Boston crowd, Browne was declared the winner whilst the ringside doctors tended to ‘Meathead’s’ terribly disfigured right eye socket.
Mitrione’s right eye was swollen shut and had turned equal shades of purple, red and black, with a subtle stream of blood trickling down his face.
Matt Mitrione’s eye injury is without a doubt one of the more gnarly images in Octagon history.
