Inför matchen mot Roy Nelson för fem år sen ska UFCs dåvarande matchmaker Joe Silva, ha ljugit om vilken storlek på octagonen som skulle komma att användas. Detta påstår den före detta tungviktaren i en intervju med the MMA Hour:
Anyone who’s ever [seen] me fight or [listened to] my interviews, knows how much I despise that small cage, and Joe Silva lied to me and told me it’s the big cage so I would take the fight. The reason why I don’t like it is because it eliminates all my mobility, it eliminates my evasive action and my offensive footwork.
One hundred percent, (he lied). Because they know I won’t take a fight in that small cage. That’s one of the reasons why, I would always tell them, ‘what cage is it in?’, ‘we don’t know what it is yet.’ How can you tell me that’s something you don’t know, when I’m the most mobile heavyweight, and I’m actively saying I don’t want to fight in the small cage? ‘We don’t know what it is until we figure out the venue. We just know the date.’ That’s some bullsh—t man.
That’s the reason why I kicked him — if you go back and watch the film, I kicked Joe Silva in the stomach right after the fight. I literally threw a bodykick and kicked him in the stomach. He’s like ‘Matt I had gall bladder surgery,’ you shouldn’t have lied to me then.
I ekot av Mitriones kritik ger sig lättviktaren Joe Wade sig in och påstår att Joe Silva hotat avverka Wade efter att han tackat nej till en match mot en motståndare som råkat i luven med USADA, en amerikansk antidopingorganisation:
Mitrione with Silva lying. I was 4-0 lost my first fight to Khabilov almost scored knockout didn’t happen. I tried to turn down a fight with someone coming off PED suspension appeal he says he’ll cut me that I’m in no pos to turn down a fight. I’ll slap that Napoleon fuck
— Chris Wade (@CWadeMMA) November 28, 2017
Matt Mitrione tävlar i Bellators tungviktsdivision för tillfället och kommer att möta Roy Nelson på Bellator 194 den 16:e februari nästa år. Bellator 194, eller Bellator World Grand Prix 2018, är en turnering i tungviktsdivisionen där bland annat Roy Nelson, Fedor Emelianenko och Quinton ”Rampage” Jackson kommer delta.
