At the start of the round, Mitrione tried to avoid standing in front of Rothwell, but that only worked for a little bit. Eventually he tried to go head to head with Rothwell, who ended up eating up his punches. Rothwell started to strike back and Mitrione started to stagger a little bit.
Mitrione, who entered the octagon with record of 9W-2L, went to take Rothwell, who entered the fight with a record of 34W-9L, but Rothwell blocked the attempt and tried locking in a guillotine choke. He squeezed down and Mitrione was forced to tap out, costing him the fight.
The fight ended at 1:54 of the first round one.
After the fight, Rothwell said that the only fight that matters to him now is for the No. 1 contender spot. He said he will have the UFC Heavyweight title.
This is the second fight in a row that Rothwell has won in the first round. Before fighting Mitrione, he defeated Alistair Overeem at UFC Fight Night 50. He landed a right hand in that fight, and it that led to a win.
After defeating Overeem, Rothwell performed a little dance, just feet away from Overeem.
