Matt Mitrione is picking a fight, and on Thursday he let the world know it.
The former NFL defensive lineman turned surging UFC heavyweight took to his Twitter account and blasted former two-time heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski for his apparent unwillingness to throw down inside the Octagon.
According to Mitrione, he had just received word that Arlovski had turned down his offer to fight for the second time—citing that “Meathead” was not ranked high enough to fetch his interest.
This turn of events incited the The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 alum, and he launched a tirade at the Jackson-Winkeljohn-trained fighter:
His efforts caught Arlovski’s attention, and the savvy veteran ever so politely returned fire:
While a Twitter back-and-forth with a potential opponent in the last thing Mitrione wanted, Thursday’s events are signs that the Lafayette, Indiana-based fighter’s patience is boiling over. He’s on a three-fight winning streak—all of which have come via first-round destruction—with his most recent victim being former interim title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC on Fox 13 back in December.
Mitrione built some serious momentum with his 2014 campaign and is eager to continue his climb up the heavyweight ladder. He has no problem jumping into the driver’s seat to get that done.
“I’m trying to move up in the world and I’m doing whatever I can to make that happen,” Mitrione told Bleacher Report. “I’m ready to fight and I’m ready to do that as soon as possible. I’ve already been on the shelf for two months and [Arlovski] has been out longer than that. Let’s do the fight in Montreal in April or wherever and whenever we can get this done. I’m looking to fight as soon as possible. I’m looking to move up in the world and I don’t have time to be waiting. I’ve been looking for a fight for awhile and now I’m picking one.
“I was being respectful and waiting for Arlovski to accept the fight, but now he’s clowning me? I don’t have time for that, dude. Come on. He’s going to go on Twitter and ask fans who he should fight when he’s turning down fights with me? I don’t care what the guy says. I’m ready to scrap. I’m ready to do work.”
With Mitrione taking his friction with Arlovski into public view, it will be interesting to see how things develop between the two heavyweights going forward. As he stated on Twitter, Mitrione‘s biggest point of contention is that Arlovski claims he isn’t ranked high enough to warrant a fight, yet the Belarus native held the 14th spot in the rankings when he faced the No. 4-ranked Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva last September.
The affable heavyweight knockout artist doesn’t understand why Arlovski refuses to give him the same opportunity—especially when the current heavyweight landscape leaves few options outside of a future clash between the two.
There is no time line set for Junior dos Santos to return following his victory over Stipe Miocic in December, and a bout against Travis Browne would make sense for the former champion’s next matchup. The only other viable option for the Chicago transplant would be Ben Rothwell, but the two heavyweights already collided once on a previous occasion, with Arlovski getting the KO victory at Affliction: Banned in 2008.
Interim title challenger Mark Hunt could also be an option, but the “Super Samoan” is coming off a loss to Fabricio Werdum in his most recent outing at UFC 180 last November.
In the past, the UFC has favored matchups that fight fans are excited to see, and Mitrione‘s outburst is clearly a play in that particular lane. He’s letting the world know he’s placed a target on Arlovski, and it will be interesting to see how things heat up between the two heavyweights.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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