Matt Mitrione Injury: Updates on UFC Star's Eye and Return

UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione will require surgery to repair his right eye that was severely damaged by two eye pokes in his Jan. 17 matchup against Travis Browne.  

According to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com, Mitrione is scheduled to have his broken orbital bone repaired next week. 

Continue for updates. 

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Mitrione 'Unsure' of Recovery Time

Friday, Jan. 22

Speaking to Helwani in the same report, Mitrione said he does not have a return timetable, but he did add good news because his eye is "non-weight bearing and has significant blood flow."

During an appearance on Helwani's podcast The MMA Hour on Tuesday, Mitrione did express frustration with how things were handled by the referee and officials during his fight with Browne after the second time he was poked in the eye. 

"It shouldn’t be up to me, the guy who lives his life to compete to make a decision," Mitrione said. "It should be up to the commission, the doctors and the referee to realize the dude is fighting with one eye closed, and he’s complaining about seeing double."

Mitrione's right eye became a social media sensation on Sunday night when it looked like someone stuffed a rubber ball under his skin, as this post from his Twitter account after the fight shows (WARNING: IMAGE IS GRAPHIC):

As horrific as the injury was, Mitrione also praised the job UFC officials did taking care of him. He would end up losing the bout against Browne in the third round by TKO, his second consecutive defeat, adding insult to the injury. 

Fortunately, Mitrione sounds optimistic about how his early recovery has gone and will hopefully be back in the Octagon very soon so that his eye isn't the final image fans have of him for the rest of his mixed martial arts career.