Browne pokes his way past Mitrione for TKO win

(WARNING: post features image of gruesome hematoma below)

A pair of unpunished eye pokes made it difficult to appreciate Travis Browne's latest win.

Browne had problems with Mitrione's trademark movement in the early going, though neither man was particularly convincing in the first round. The most memorable moment came when Browne accidentally jabbed a finger into Mitrione's eye near the end of the round. That was just a preview of what was to come.

In the second, Mitrione wanted to stay on the offensive, but he was eventually cut off by another finger to the eye. The referee didn't acknowledge the infraction until Mitrione complained that he was seeing double.

Even after a brief recovery period, it was obvious that Mitrione was still suffering from the effects of the illegal move. Worse, Browne was not penalized for either poke.

The fight came to a close when Browne slammed Mitrione down in the third and moved right into full mount. From that dominant position, Browne drilled Mitrione with punches and elbows until the match was stopped.

The unfortunate result will likely push Mitrione closer to retirement. On the other side, Browne gets himself back into the winner's circle after a loss to Andrei Arlovski in his last appearance.

Post-fight, Mitrione looked like he'd seen better days.