With his back against the wall, Matt Mitrione delivered his best octagon performance to date. The popular heavyweight knocked out Phil De Fries in short order, finishing him in just 19 seconds in a UFC on FUEL 9 main card fight.
The end came after a mistake by De Fries, who changed levels awkwardly while reaching for a takedown. The forward-charging Mitrione basically ran him over and De Fries ended up on his back with Mitrione in side control. Mitrione rained down a series of strikes that put De Fries out in a flash.
Mitrione had been coming off a two-fight losing streak after defeats at the hands of veterans Cheick Kongo and Roy Nelson, respectively. The win was his first since June 2011, when he KO’d the recently retired Christian Morecraft.
He’s now 6-2 overall.
De Fries lost for the third time in his last four UFC fights. All of those losses were knockouts that took less than half a round.
He’s 9-3 with 1 no contest.