A really good and unexpectedly athletic heavyweight fight keeps the violence volume pumped for UFC Fight Night in Boston between Travis Browne and Matt Mitrione.
The heavyweights try to imitate the lightweights in what should be an output heavy king of the monster battle between Browne and Mitrione this January 17, 2016 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Match Up
Heavyweight Travis Browne 17-3-1 vs. Matt Mitrione 9-4
The Odds
Heavyweight Travis Browne -150 vs. Matt Mitrione +130
3 Things You Should Know
1. Beware the Edmund Tarvedaynan factor!
I’ve been critical of Edmund, like everyone else, because occasionally the universe is unanimously in agreement. In my sober play by play of Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm, I even outlined my hatred at a granular level, pissed off at how he couldn’t even connect the dots in distinguishing between pressuring with a specific punch, while countering with a specific different punch.
However…I’ll be the village contrarian and say that while all of these things are true, it’s important to distinguish between an anchor, and an unexpected iceberg. Edmund is an anchor, nothing more. And if Browne loses this fight, the lack of strategy should be just as critical as the lack of autonomy. Browne is a grown man. But this isn’t a team sport where a coaches are major influences. Travis Browne had a bizarre bout with Andre Arlovski, and an expectedly one sided one with Fabricio Werdum. He’s still a solid 8-3-1 in the UFC.
2. Beware the last fight on contract factor!
I gotta admit. Matt Mitrione never really registered on my ‘personalities to watch’ radar. Then again I don’t pay much attention to MMA extracurricular activities. Even big stories, like the Jon Jones episode of Grand Theft Auto, come to me in parts because much of it isn’t that interesting. But I really enjoyed his interview with Ariel Helwani:
There’s a refreshing candidness about the business of MMA that doesn’t come across as bitter, or thoughtless. Even while uncomfortably walking around in bare feet because the UFC’s uniform policy. It would kind of suck to see him walk as a viewer of all things UFC. But if it leads to better opportunities for him and his family, more power to him. However, there’s only one thing he needs to focus on.
3. Both guys have a tendency to sabotage themselves, so bet on the craftier saboteur.
Browne is a paradoxical mixture of talents. He always seems at war with himself strategically. He throws good straight punches that are maximized by his reach, and when he’s actively kicking, he’s tough to defend against. He doesn’t apply a pressure game, but he’s not a counter striker either. His philosophy seems centered around reacting. Many of his UFC wins came not from countering with a specific strike so much as reacting with a specific approach.
This is why I tend to believe that his time with Jackson-Wink is a little overstated; replay any of his 2013 wins, and I doubt they go the same way. Mitrione seems like a great matchup on paper. His swift movement and ability to string quick combinations together should make him ideal in cutting off Browne’s reach, who doesn’t utilize reach well to begin with, and penetrating Browne’s defense, which isn’t very present to begin with. But Mitrione doesn’t always fight to his strengths either, although I think much of it comes from having every pro fight be a UFC fight. His development has been rocky-ish.
Prediction
I really think that Mitrione should be able to outmaneuver Browne. I mean, he will. But to be able to capitalize on his agility without getting caught is another story. Still, recency bias and all, but it seems like the free agents are doing well while Edmund’s crew is not, so I’ll leave my prediction up to random correlation noise. Matt Mitrione by TKO, round 3.