The bout was a rematch from their first encounter at Bellator 215, which ended in a no contest after an accidental low blow from Mitrione to Kharitonov.
Mitrione, who had issues with his mouthpiece throughout the fight, would issue the following statement on Twitter about the defeat:
Me losing was not because of my mouthpiece, it was because of my response to the situation. I always use the same one & lost it Thursday before fight week. Had an impression done at a West Lafayette dentist. It was shipped to hotel. First time I ever wore it was tonight.
— Matt Mitrione (@mattmitrione) August 25, 2019
A defeated Mitrione has now lost two of his last three bouts and the fighter hasn’t picked up a victory in over a year. The aforementioned mouthpiece did cause a lot of issues for Mitrione, as the referee almost took a point from the fighter after it fell out of his mouth for a total of four times.
