The Australians may have been the underdogs going into UFC Fight Night 85 on Sunday but in true Aussie battler fashion they ended the day riding a wave of momentum and success.
A reported home crowd of 9,552 filled the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and witnessed a spectacular walk-off knockout from Mark Hunt in the main event.
After spending the first couple minutes of the fight feeling each other out, Hunt started throwing his trademark right hand bomb, eventually finding his target as Mir tried to duck out of danger. The punch which landed on Mir’s ear dropped the former heavyweight champ and the referee called the fight over at the 3:01 mark of the first round.
In the co-main event, Neil Magny persevered through two knock downs from Hector Lombard to come out victorious with a TKO victory early in the third round. The victory, which is Magny’s third straight, however was overshadowed by poor referring.
Magny hammered Lombard with strikes from every direction in the second round. In what was a controversial decision referee Steve Perceval let the fight continue despite Lombard clearly not defending himself or fighting back. The fight was eventually stopped with strikes at the 0:46 mark of the third round. It was the first time the American Top Team fighter has been stopped in his professional MMA career. Magny earned himself a performance of the night bonus, alongside Mark Hunt for his effort.
Jake Matthews continued his winning ways with an impressive victory over young gun, Johnny Case. Matthews showcased his much improved stand up game with powerful, speedy striking and effective body kicks which left Case hurting.
While Matthews was down on the score cards leading into the third round, the Melbournian had no plans to leave his fate in the judge’s hands. As the end of the third round inched closer Matthews attempted to lock in a rear-naked choke which was broken by Case as he grabbed and pulled on the cage. Not to be deterred, Matthews looked for the submission finish again this time locking in the rear-naked choke tightly and forcing the tap in the dying seconds of fight.
Matthews picked up the first bonus of his career in an exciting Fight of the Night.
Other notable victories went to New Zealand’s Dan Hooker who submitted Mark Eddiva in under 90 seconds, Dan Kelly who came from behind to finish Antonio Carlos Junior with a TKO victory and Bec Rawlings outpointing Seo Hee Ham.
Main Card (Fox Sports)
- Mark Hunt def Frank Mir via KO (Punch), Rd 1, 3:01
- Neil Magny def Hector Lombard via TKO (Punches), Rd 3, 0:46
- Jake Matthews def Johnny Case via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 3, 4:45
- Daniel Kelly def Antonio Carlos Junior via TKO (Punches), Rd 3, 1:36
- Steve Bosse def James Te Huna via KO, Rd 1, 0:52
- Bec Rawlings def Seo Hee Ham via Decision (Unanimous), (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports):
- Alan Jouban def Brendan O’Reilly via TKO (Strikes), Rd 1, 2:15
- Dan Hooker def Mark Eddiva via Submission (Guillotine Choke), Rd 1, 1:24
- Leslie Smith def Rin Nakai via Decision (Unanimous), (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Viscardi Andrade def Richard Walsh via Decision (Unanimous), (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass):
- Ross Pearson def Chad Laprise via Decision (Split), (28-30, 30-27, 29-28)
- Alan Patrick def Damien Brown via Decision (Unanimous), (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
