Matt Mitrione released by Bellator following third straight knockout loss

Heavyweight MMA fighter Matt Mitrione has been released by Bellator following his third straight knockout loss this past weekend.

MMAFighting.com confirmed with promotional officials that Mitrione received his walking papers from Bellator after tapping out to strikes against Tyrell Fortune at last Friday’s Bellator 262 event. In addition to Mitrione, Bellator also confirmed that it has released Ronny Markes and Adil Benjilany. Markes was knocked out at Bellator 262, but Benjilany defeated Johnny Soto, marking his release as a strange one considering he just won.

Regardless, the big cut among these three names is of course Mitrione, the former “Ultimate Fighter” star who has been competing in Bellator since 2016. After winning his first fights in the Bellator cage, including a memorable knockout win over the legend Fedor Emelianenko in New York City in 2017, Mitrione has really struggled over the last few years. He is currently on a three-fight losing skid, with all three of those losses coming by knockout, and he’s 0-4, 1 NC over his last five fights. To say it’s been a rough stretch for Mitrione is an understatement. A fighter who holds knockout wins over Emelianenko and even Derrick Lewis on his resume is now struggling to even remain competitive in fights.

What’s next for Mitrione is hard to say. It seems very unlikely the UFC would call coming for him again, but perhaps PFL could be a fit for the promotion’s next heavyweight tournament. The other option would be BKFC, as Mitrione primarily likes to throw his hands and his ground game was never his strong suit. It would be interesting to see if Mitrione would consider doing BKFC or even professional boxing going forward given how many other former MMA fighters are heading to those sports these days.

What do you think is next for Matt Mitrione after being released by Bellator?