There is something special about seeing elite-level heavyweights throw down inside the cage. When two huge men are locked together inside the Octagon, all it takes is one clean shot to bring things to an abrupt halt. Furthermore, when those two fighters bring the amount of talent and power Stipe Miocic and walk-off knockout master Mark Hunt possess, leather-slinging fireworks are all but guaranteed.
In addition to the stylistic appeal of Saturday night’s showcase bout in Adelaide, Australia, the tilt between Miocic and Hunt provided an addition storyline. While both men were coming off losses in their most recent outings, each managed to find a boost in popularity in the process. The Cleveland native took former champion Junior dos Santos the distance in a heated scrap at UFC on Fox 13 back in December, while The Super Samoan stepped up on short notice to tangle with Fabricio Werdum for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 180 in Mexico City.
Their respective fights, and the current state of the heavyweight division, made the showdown between Miocic and Hunt at Fight Night 65 a high stakes affair. The winner would jump back into the title race, and the loser would be forced to the back of the line for the foreseeable future. Neither man wanted to take a step back in the heavyweight divisional hierarchy, and rather than being the abrupt violence most expected, the clash turned into a lopsided beating doled out by Miocic.
The Ohio representative worked an efficient game plan that put Hunt on the canvas early and often. When he wasn’t beating the former K-1 Grand Prix winner’s face to a pulp on the mat, he was peppering it with crisp boxing on the feet. While the bout should have been stopped long before, Miocic earned the TKO finish in the final round to pick up the biggest victory of his career.
It was an impressive and thorough performance from Miocic, who will become a major player in the heavyweight title race because of it.
Let’s take a look at the good, bad and strange from UFC Fight Night 65.
The Good
It’s been a while since any new blood has risen to become a serious contender in the heavyweight ranks, and Miocic solidified his arrival at UFC Fight Night 65.
The Team Strong Style put a drubbing on Hunt for the better part of five rounds until the referee jumped in to stop the bout in the final frame. Everything leading up to that point was all Miocic. He wore Hunt down with his takedowns and ground-and-pound on the canvas and kept the fight at range by using his length and superior boxing skills.
The former standout wrestler from Cleveland State University utilized those skills to not only exhaust the New Zealand native but sap his hope of winning. Hunt was in desperation mode from the early goings and never mounted any real offensive attack.
With the victory, the biggest question hovering over Miocic will be in regard to what comes next for the surging talent. He already holds wins over several notable names in the division and took former titleholder Junior dos Santos to the wire in his most recent outing before Saturday night. Miocic has found victory in four of his past five outings and has proved he deserves to be recognized as one of the best fighters in his weight class.
By defeating Hunt on Saturday, the Cleveland native could well be one win away from earning a long-awaited title opportunity.
*** Since making the move to middleweight, Robert Whittaker has been a man on a mission, and that mission received a huge boost on Saturday. The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes winner earned a lightning-quick knockout over savvy striker Brad Tavares, as he put away the scrappy Hawaiian in impressive fashion.
The Reaper caught Tavares with a sharp left hook in an early exchange and then floored the Xtreme Couture representative again with another short left before dropping a few more hammers to finish off the bout. With the win, Whittaker has now won three straight bouts inside the Octagon and two consecutive as a middleweight. It was an excellent showing and a huge win for Whittaker at Fight Night 65.
*** After a rough start where he dropped his first two fights inside the Octagon, Sean O’Connell has found some traction in the UFC with back-to-back victories against tough competition. The Real O.C. drubbed seasoned veteran Anthony Perosh on Saturday, battering the 42-year-old Australian into submission early in the opening round.
It was O’Connell’s power that made the difference as he hit Perosh early and often until the referee stepped in to stop the beating. In addition to getting the win, O’Connell stated in the postfight interview it was the biggest victory of his career. As a result, it should put the Utah native in position to face a bigger name in his next outing.
*** Someone’s zero had to go in the bout between James Vick and Jake Mathews, and it was Vick who handed the young Australian prospect the first blemish on his professional record. While the 20-year-old talent was peppering him up with big left hands in the opening minute of the round, it was Vick’s resilience and lights-out submission game that proved to be the difference. Mathews waded in too far, and the Lloyd Irvin representative latched on the fight-ending guillotine to pick up his fourth consecutive victory inside the Octagon and keep his undefeated record intact.
*** While Dan Hooker was able to get his UFC career off to an exciting start with a highlight-reel finish in his official debut, a loss in his most recent bout served to cool off his momentum. When The Hangman landed a bout against veteran featherweight Hatsu Hioki at Fight Night 65, he suddenly had the opportunity to take a big jump back into the 145-pound picture.
And he certainly made the most of it as he knocked out the scrappy Japanese fighter in the opening round to pick up his second victory under the UFC banner. It was an impressive performance for a fighter who could have a bright future competing inside the Octagon.
*** In addition to smiling, Sam Alvey loves to knock people out. The heavy-handed middleweight added another victim to his list in Australian Dan Kelly on Saturday night when he caught the former Olympian with a right hand that spelled disaster. Kelly did his best to regain his footing but was unable to get the job done as Alvey poured on the heat until he secured the first-round finish.
While his performance at Fight Night 65 was impressive, his post-fight interview was equally so, as Alvey gave a global thanks to the mothers everywhere and called out undefeated Canadian Elias Theodorou in a proposed “hair match.” Well-done, sir. Well-done.
*** Alex Chambers gave her native Australians something to cheer about at Fight Night 65 as she earned a memorable comeback victory over Kailin Curran. Chambers was on the receiving end of a beating from the Hawaiian upstart throughout the opening two rounds until she latched onto Curran’s arm in the early goings of the third. Despite several attempts to shrug her off, Chambers held strong and locked in the fight-ending armbar late in the final frame to pick up her first victory under the UFC banner.
*** There was no technical brilliance to be found in the bout between Brendan O’Reilly and Vik Grujic, but it certainly registered in the slobber-knocker category when the two Australians stepped in to throw down. The Badger jumped out to an early lead on the strength of his wrestling, but Grujic fired back strong in the second frame as the two welterweights went toe-to-toe trading punches. O’Reilly returned to his grappling to take the advantage and ultimately the bout as he earned the unanimous-decision victory on the judges’ scorecards.
*** It took a viral video for Ben Nguyen to get a call from the UFC, and he made the most of it at Fight Night 65. The flyweight newcomer took it to Alptekin Ozkilic to kick off the card in Australia and carved out an impressive first impression by finishing Turkish Delight with one second left in the opening round. Nguyen’s striking set the tone in the early goings, and his hands sealed the deal as he picked up the victory in his first showing inside the Octagon.
The Bad
There were a lot of expectations surrounding Hatsu Hioki‘s arrival to the UFC back in 2011.
The Japanese featherweight had earned acclaim competing overseas and was figured to be a threat to Jose Aldo’s reign in the 145-pound fold. Yet, nothing close to that has panned out for the seasoned veteran, and he took another step closer to obscurity Saturday night.
The 31-year-old Tokyo native came into his bout with Daniel Hooker having dropped all but one of his past five bouts and desperately needed to turn things around at Fight Night 65. The featherweight division is more competitive in 2015 than it ever was before, and Hioki was in danger of being left in the dust with a loss in Adelaide.
The pressure was high, and Hioki will now be in an unenviable position after suffering the knockout loss to Hooker. The Hangman landed the high kick on several occasions before he planted the final one on Hioki‘s neck and sparked the end of the bout. It was an impressive victory for the surging featherweight and the worst possible outcome where Hioki is concerned.
While it wouldn’t be fair to say Hioki has been a flop in the UFC, it is apt to say the versatile veteran has been a disappointment. He’s shown signs of his talent during the past four years competing on the sport’s biggest stage, but he just hasn’t been able to get the job done.
There is always one bout on every card that makes fight fans shake their heads, and Fight Night 65 was no exception.
UFC veteran Kyle Noke and Jonavin Webb squared off in a preliminary bout where both men had plenty to gain. The Australian has suffered some rough waters over the past few years and came into his bout with the jiu-jitsu ace after being on the sidelines for a lengthy stint. On the flip side, Webb has garnered a buzz for his talents and undefeated record, and a victory over a fighter with Noke‘s name recognition would serve to be a nice addition to his resume.
When the fight got underway, Webb’s grappling made all the difference in the initial two frames, and he appeared to be clearly winning the fight heading into the final round. Noke was able to turn things up a bit in the third, but Webb kept things close and arguably could have won that round as well. When the final bell sounded, it appeared as if Webb was on his way to victory.
Yet, things are never cut-and-dried where MMA judging is concerned. And this rings especially true when one athlete is fighting in another’s home country.
Whereas many assumed Webb would get the victory, it was Noke who earned the split-decision win. One cageside judge scored all three rounds for Webb, while the other two officials gave two rounds to Noke. To be fair, the fight was far from being a rout in Webb’s favor, but he seemed to do enough to earn the victory Saturday.
Nevertheless, he was handed the first loss of his professional career, and Noke‘s victory caused the MMA community to declare some home cooking for the Australian in Adelaide at Fight Night 65.
The Strange
Strange happenings have become commonplace for Dylan Andrews.
The Ultimate Fighter alum possesses obvious talent and has been able to showcase that at times inside the Octagon, but The Villain has been on the harbinger of curious circumstance as of late. Perhaps “The Unfortunate” would be a more fitting nickname for Andrews in light of the strange turns he has suffered over his past three fights.
The bad luck started at Fight Night 27 back in 2013 when a dislocated shoulder ended his bout with Clint Hester in Indianapolis. While one incident is not enough to create a stigma, his next bout also ended in strange fashion as the 35-year-old New Zealand native knocked himself silly during a takedown attempt that ultimately led to his defeat.
While Saturday’s shenanigans weren’t as gruesome or immediate, he wasn’t able to get through his bout with Brad Scott without misfortune striking. Andrews was hit with a jab in the second round that immediately impacted his ability to see out of his right eye. Where eye pokes are common in MMA, Andrews was not poked in the eye, yet he pulled away, and the referee erroneously gave him time to recover.
That said, the allotted time did Andrews no favors and played more like the beginning of the end as he was forced to tap out to a guillotine choke shortly thereafter. It was a rough turn for a talented fighter who simply can’t seem to catch a break inside the Octagon. Furthermore, the loss to Scott is his third consecutive setback under the UFC banner. While having three straight losses doesn’t necessarily guarantee a fighter will lose his roster spot, it is never a good thing to have hanging over your profile on the sport’s biggest stage.
Andrews needs to turn things around in a big way, and finding some good vibes in the process would probably serve for the better as well.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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