a risky game to play in the upper-tier of the heavyweight fold. That being said, Mitrione’s lack of experience required a continuous education, and he received those lessons on the fly in his first two showings against top competition.

In bouts against Cheick Kongo and brick-handed TUF winner Roy Nelson, the Team Blackzilians fighter took his proverbial lumps. Nevertheless, Mitrione takes a unique approach to competition, and rather than view the losses as devastating setbacks, he chose to see them as opportunities to learn in the rapid-fire environment of MMA.

As cliché as it may seem, Mitrione absolutely subscribes to the notion that if you aren’t progressing as a mixed martial artist, then you are moving towards retirement. And with that in mind, he put his head down and workedout the kinks in order to return to the Octagon better than ever.

Familiar Foes

That work paid impressive dividends as he knocked out Phil De Fries in his next outing at UFC on FUEL TV 9 in April and he will be looking to continue that momentum this weekend when he faces former housemate Brendan Schaub at UFC 165 in Toronto.

While Mitrione and Schaub are familiar with one another due to their time spent in the TUF house, both have also traveled a similar trajectory under the UFC banner. They were each branded as highly-touted prospects on the strength of their work immediately following the reality program, but that status suffered when they were turned back in efforts to solidify their footing in the next tier of the division.

That