Mitrione 'not afraid to walk away' from sport after Browne fight

Matt Mitrione is the rare fighter whose career could begin and end in the UFC.

This Saturday in Boston, Mitrione will make his 14th appearance for the organization. "Meathead" was a late bloomer, having jumped into professional mixed martial arts after bouncing around the NFL for a few years.

At 37 years old, he's weighing his options before his UFC Fight Night 81 encounter with Travis Browne.

"There's a lot of different thoughts involved," Mitrione told MMAjunkie.com. The fact that I have to get some certifications and I could possibly get a job with the Purdue fire department and make $65,000 a year and be around my kids all the damn time. That's a pretty good position to be in.

"I've got a college degree, I'm an intelligent dude, I've got a mouthpiece, you never really know where you're gonna be. I'm not afraid to walk away."

Mitrione has a 9-4 record in the UFC with notable wins over Kimbo Slice, Shawn Jordan, and Gabriel Gonzaga. By his own admission, he believes he's fallen short when given a step up in competition and he specifically called out Browne to gauge his standing in the division.

"I need this test to see where I'm really at," Mitrione said. "Make me or break me. Have Travis go in there and smoke my ass, well then okay I'm not worth what I think I'm worth. I'm not as good as I think I am.

"But if I go in there and put hands on the No. 5, No. 6 guy in the world, then now I know I'm past the 'doing dumb s--t in the middle of a fight' hurdle and now I can start moving forwards."