Matt Mitrione suffered a brutal TKO loss to Travis Browne during UFC Fight Night 81 and his eye showed the brunt of his troubles. The loss was controversial due to the two eye pokes Browne delivered to Mitrione in the same eye that swelled up but both Browne and UFC president Dana White say it was the punches that led to the swelling and not the eye pokes, Browne also didn’t lose points because of them.
“They showed it on the instant replay in slow motion, and before he hit him, it was fine,” White told MMAjunkie. “Before he hit him, his eye was fine. When he hit him? The eye started to swell up and blow right up.”
“Again, it’s one of those things where in the cage, I was apologizing up and down to Matt because that’s not my game,” said Browne. “I’m not a dirty fighter, and even in the fight, I’m like, ‘Matt, I’m really sorry. I promise you I’m not trying to do that (on purpose).’”
In the third round, Browne blasted Mitrione with a straight punch that clearly did the majority of the damage and by the end of the fight, when the referee finally put a stop to the carnage, the former “Ultimate Fighter” had a hematoma that looked like a golf ball hiding behind his eye.
Mitrione said he suffered a broken right orbital bone and a separated shoulder when he was slammed down hard.
*photos in gallery above*
Travis Browne beats Matt Mitrione and insane Mitrione swelling on eye #UFCBoston pic.twitter.com/7pfuRmajgb
— Ronnie Laybold (@YotesHereToStay) January 18, 2016
