FFTT Main Card: Mitrione, Hominick Leave No Doubts

KILLEEN, TX, January 22 – Looking more confident than ever, rising heavyweight star Matt Mitrione scored his fourth pro win without a loss Saturday night, knocking out Tim Hague in the first round of the Fight For The Troops 2 co-main event at Fort Hood.

Mitrione vs. Hague
“I wanted to be a 265 pound Dominick Cruz,” said Mitrione, referring to the UFC bantamweight champion. See post-fight interview

The heavyweights traded leg kicks to open the bout, with each shot making an audible thud. Hague went on to shoot in and lock Mitrione up, but the former pro football player broke loose and got his offense back in gear immediately. A couple more rangefinders hit their mark, and then a straight left dropped Hague. Mitrione immediately pounced, and the follow-up barrage forced referee Dan Miragliotta to halt the bout at the 2:59 mark.

Now Mitrione wants more.

“I want to get tested,” he said. “I’m here to fight.”

With the loss, Hague falls to 12-5.

Hominick vs. Roop
Mark Hominick guaranteed himself a title shot at UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, stopping former teammate George Roop in emphatic fashion in the first round. See post-fight interview

“You have to make statements with your performances, and I think I did that tonight,” said Hominick, who improves to 20-8.

Hominick didn’t look like “The Machine” in this fight, it was more like “The Terminator” as he walked Roop (11-8-1) down with a determined look that made it clear that he meant business. After tagging his foe with practically everything he threw, he dropped Roop with a left hook. Another left followed while Roop sat on the seat of his pants, and while he kicked at Hominick to break loose, referee Don Turnage halted the bout at the 1:28 mark. Roop protested the stoppage, but as he rose, he staggered on wobbly legs, making it clear that Turnage made the right call.

Barry vs. Beltran
Heavyweight prospect Pat Barry got off to a slow start against Joey Beltran, but his trademark kicks started paying dividends as the bout progressed, allowing him to pound out a three round unanimous decision win. See post-fight interview

Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Barry, who improves to 6-2; Beltran falls to 12-5.

After a tentative opening, the two engaged 45 seconds in, locking up against the cage. A stalemate ensued, with referee Mario Yamasaki breaking the two just before the midway point of the round. Beltran began to kick his offense into gear, throwing sporadic punches as Barry tried to let his kicks go. In response, Beltran rushed Barry with a flurry of punches and pushed him into the fence. A low knee by Beltran brought a stoppage and a warning, and it was the last significant action of the round.

Barry opened the second on the offensive, drilling Beltran with a right kick to the leg. “HD” kept the pressure on with his kicks, but Beltran responded with another flurry and a lock-up. The takedown attempts of “The Mexicutioner” were coming up short though, and another stall brought a restart from Yamasaki. In response, the two began exchanging with a little more urgency, and Beltran was starting to favor his left leg, the target of Barry’s kicks. Barry then switched things upstairs, drawing a roar from the crowd with a left kick to the head. Beltran gamely trudged forward, and though his punches had no steam on them due to a lack of leverage, he kept throwing them, finishing the round with a strong flurry.

Beltran, showing no fear, went right at Barry in round three, but he was starting to catch more kicks for his trouble. Nothing stopped the Californian’s forward march though, and his flurries against allowed him to catch Barry against the fence. With a little more than two minutes left, Yamasaki restarted the slowing action, and moments later, an inadvertent eye poke from Barry halted the bout for a look from the Octagonside physician. Allowed to continue, Beltran went forward and Barry went for the finish, getting Beltran to the canvas with a kick to the leg. The two rose moments later, and Barry fired off a right kick to the head. Beltran remained upright, but almost hit the deck at the bell as Barry scored with a series of flush leg kicks, ending the bout with a bang.

Miller vs. Wiman
Following a rough 2010 plagued by injuries, lightweight Matt Wiman got 2011 off to a stellar start with an impressive three round unanimous decision win over his Ultimate Fighter 5 castmate Cole Miller. See post-fight interview

Scores for Wiman were 30-27 twice and 29-28.

Wiman was the aggressor as the bout opened, but Miller gave as good as he got as the two traded punches at a fast clip. Wiman, his nose bloodied, was the busier fighter, but as soon as he would get a combination off, Miller would fire back. With two minutes left, Miller tried to pull guard but fell to his back, and Wiman followed with strikes. Miller, no slouch from his back, worked to lock Wiman up, but the Colorado native’s offense proved to be a good defense as the seconds ticked away on the round.

There was no let-up to the fast pace in round two, with Wiman able to start things off with more ground strikes on Miller once they hit that mat. After standing, The two continued to trade, with Wiman eventually getting matters back to the canvas, where his ground and pound attack started to open things up for him on the scorecards.

Wiman continued pressing the action in the third, using his strikes to get the bout to the canvas again. Miller had few answers for Wiman’s striking attack, and whatever questions he posed were answered with punches to the face. And while Miller blocked the majority of the shots, the busier Wiman was pushing the pace and getting enough through to make an impact. With 30 seconds left, Wiman got Miller’s back in a scramble, but “Magrinho” got free, only to have the clock run out on him.

With the win, Wiman improves to 13-5; Miller falls to 17-5.