UFC FIGHT NIGHT 65
MAY 9, 2015 (MAY 10 LOCAL TIME)
LIVE FROM ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
=====UFC Fight Pass Prelims Quick Results=====
-Ben Ngyuen def. Alptekin Ozkilic via TKO at 4:59 of the first round
Note: Nguyen made a hell of a UFC debut. He knocked Ozkilic down early in the round, only to see Ozkilic control much of the next few minutes. However, he found Ozkilic’s chin again late in a rush around the cage, landing several strikes on the ground to force the ref to step in before the horn sounded. Good open to the card.
-Brendan O’Reilly def. Vik Grujic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Note: That second round was the type of fight that Dana White often irrationally touts as the best, with two exhausted guys throwing punches with no regard for their health. Outside of that, O’Reilly managed to control much of the first and third to take a clear decision. Grujic was too tired down the stretch to capitalize after some good offense in the second.
-Alex Chambers def. Kailin Curran via armbar at 3:15 of the third round
Note: Fantastic, gutsy come from behind win by Chambers. Curran was dominating on the feet with a superior level of activity, and the just nonsensically took the fight to the ground in the third. Chambers went for a kimura, and in defending it Curran handed her the armbar. Credit to Chambers for catching it and forcing the quick tap, but Curran cost herself that fight.
-Brad Scott def. Dylan Andrews via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:54 of the second round
Note: Was a competitive fight for much of it. Scott hurt Andrews late and capitalized with a nice guillotine. Andrews tried to escape, but Scott turned it into a mounted choke and forced the submission.
-Bec Rawlings def. Lisa Ellis via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:09 of the first round
Note: Ellis got the early takedown, but it was all Rawlings from there. She beat her up on the feet and with work on the ground, and scored the late choke for the win in the opening round.
-Sam Alvey def. Dan Kelly via TKO at :49 of the first round
Note: Man, he made that look easy. He let Kelly come forward, cracked him with a right hook, followed him across the cage with strikes, and dropped him with another. He’s on a very solid run right now.
-Kyle Noke def. Jonavin Webb via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Note: Oof. Bad home country decision there. Webb won that bout, and looked pretty good in his UFC debut. That’s just… not a good decision at all.
-Daniel Hooker def. Hatsu Hioki via KO (head kick and punches) at 4:13 of the second round
Note: Hioki looked really good through most of the fight, then got cracked with a head kick. Hooker immediately followed up with a perfect right hand as Hioki was stumbling to put him out cold. Fantastic come from behind win.
=====UFC Fight Pass Main Card=====
-Jon Anik and Kenny Florian break down what’s to come on this four-fight main card before sending to the first fight. Joe Martinez serving as the ring announcer; he’s not utilized nearly enough post-WEC.
FIGHT ONE: JAKE MATTHEWS VS. JAMES VICK (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Matthews took the center and played the aggressor early. Both feinted out some strikes without committing. Matthews landed a hard left hook and shot in for a takedown. He got stuffed on the cage but stayed on the attempt. Vick continued to hold off the takedown attempt, but Matthews eventually got a double leg, picked Vick up, shook his head in confidence, and slammed him down. Vick scooted back to the cage, though, and immediately got up. Matthews backed off and reset. Vick blocked a couple of punches. Matthews popped in with that left hook again. He landed a right hand a short time later. Vick wasn’t managing much with his strikes. Matthews landed a couple of strikes but did eat a counter strike. Matthews tried to get the crowd behind him a bit. Matthews got poked in the eye as he threw a spinning back fist, bringing a halt to things to get that checked out. Vick connected on a jumping knee, and stuffed a takedown attempt. He landed some uppercuts. Vick locked up a standing guillotine and dragged Matthews to the ground. He had it on tight but from an awkward angle, but it was enough to make Matthews tap! Wow! Great finish from Vick in a round he was losing.
WINNER: Vick via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:53 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**+) Entertaining one round fight. Matthews was doing mostly well in that round, but Vick caught him kind of out of nowhere with that finish. That’s a great guillotine finish off the takedown attempt. Just a really nice job from the underdog.
FIGHT TWO: ANTHONY PEROSH VS. SEAN O’CONNELL (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: O’Connell moved forward early, though Perosh was the first to throw out a strike. They traded strikes. O’Connell landed a few hard strikes and backed Perosh up to the cage. Perosh was staggered a bit, and he took several more big strikes. The ref asked Perosh to fight back several times and stopped it with Perosh standing. That was quick.
WINNER: O’Connell via TKO at :56 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**) Not much to that one. Good effort from O’Connell, but that was more about Perosh just being done. He doesn’t need to fight again. That’s more than enough. He took enough damage from Ryan Bader last time out through 15 minutes, and took a lot more damage here in a short amount of time.
FIGHT THREE: BRAD TAVARES VS. ROBERT WHITTAKER (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Tavares got in an early leg kick. Whittaker landed a left hook. Tavares got in with another leg kick. Whittaker landed several big strikes. He dropped Tavares! He stayed on him and dropped him again! He knocked him out cold on the ground! That’s just ridiculous. Fan-freaking-tastic performance from Robert Whittaker.
WINNER: Whittaker via KO at :44 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**+) That’s a legitimately excellent finish of a very durable fighter. Huge win for Whittaker, and a massive statement as to where he’s at right now in this middleweight field. That first left hook was perfect, and his pursuit afterward was great. Big win.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FOUR: MARK HUNT VS. STIPE MIOCIC (HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Hunt opened with a leg kick, then got in with the left hook. Hunt threw a kick to the body, but was a bit out of range. Miocic tripped Hunt up with a single leg, but Hunt immediately scrambled out. Miocic came forward and landed a good punch. Miocic stayed out of range of a couple of strikes. He couldn’t do that on Hunt’s next rush. Hunt landed a couple of more softly thrown hooks. Miocic landed a straight right. He got through with another. Miocic got in with a left hook and a couple more short strikes. Hunt landed a left, but ate a counter. Miocic went for the high crotch single leg again and this time got on top in half guard. Miocic landed some short forearms and tried to make Hunt uncomfortable. The crowd booed the ground work. Miocic continued to stay busy as Hunt was just stuck on his back. Miocic landed some better strikes and did some damage. He tried to isolate Hunt’s arm and passed to side control, losing the arm. Hunt escaped late and got to his feet to the approval of the crowd. He landed a right hand at the horn.
Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Miocic. Hunt got in some solid offense, but the takedown and damage done by Miocic will give him that frame.
ROUND TWO: Miocic opened with some hard jabs. Hunt went for a left but missed. Miocic continued to work the jab. Hunt was kept out of range for a bit. Miocic threw a step in elbow. He continued to throw out strikes as Hunt moved forward. Miocic ducked under a strike and scored a takedown. Hunt gave up his back as he rolled to a knee at the cage. He tried to move to his feet, but Miocic held him down. Miocic continued to land strikes, but Hunt finally moved back to his feet. They traded jabs. Miocic hurt Hunt with a few big strikes in a row. Hunt took it and came back ahead. Miocic got in several big strikes in close. He landed an elbow to the jaw and they clinched. Hunt just looks way out of this one at the moment. Miocic went to grinding, landing some knees and punches for a bit before Hunt pressed him off. Miocic tried to shoot in after they got broken up, but it was back to the clinch. Miocic went for a takedown but got stuffed that time. He did land an uppercut on the way out. More clinch work, and Miocic got in a knee and an uppercut. Hunt separated with a big left hand, and they traded shots at the horn.
Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Miocic. An even more convincing round regardless of that last exchange.
ROUND THREE: Miocic landed an early jab. Hunt landed a hook. Miocic landed another jab or two before shooting in and taking Hunt down. Miocic was content to stay patient in the half guard despite the crowd’s unhappiness. He postured up and landed some big punches and elbows. Miocic continued landing, continuously wearing Hunt down. He landed some big elbows and tried to set up an arm submission. He landed some big punches. Hunt tried to escape, but started getting lit up with punches as he got to the cage. Hunt was covering up and trying to get to his feet on the cage, but Miocic kept beating on him. Miocic landed some short elbows as Hunt stayed on a knee. Hunt worked to his feet. He ate a big shot, missed one of his own, and got taken right back down. Miocic mounted him. Hunt was taking strikes. He fired back some strikes, but was just throwing his hands up as he was getting warned to fight back. Miocic continued landing. He slowed down and Hunt tried to escape. Hunt got to his knees and tried to work back up. Miocic held him down and started throwing more strikes. Hunt continued to move at the ref’s instructions, allowing him to continue as the horn sounded.
Penick’s Scorecard: 10-8 Miocic. Hunt’s getting his ass kicked here. That easily could have been stopped, but Hunt responded just enough for the ref to allow him to continue. Still, he’s getting beat up badly, and looks exhausted.
ROUND FOUR: This fight really should have been stopped. Hunt doesn’t need to take any more damage. He came out firing the left hand. but Miocic quickly took him down again. He landed the short hammer fists, and just stayed busy again. He got in some body strikes, then went back to the head. Hunt is just looking blown up and gone. He’s done. Miocic’s assault from the top continued intermittently, though not quickly enough to avoid fans booing him. This fight is just over. Hunt tried to escape, but got held down. Miocic has exhausted himself as well, slowing the attack, but it’s still too much for Hunt to be taking after the last round. It’s just gross to watch at this point. Miocic postured up and landed some hard strikes. Hunt tried to get up at the cage, but got held down. He finally got up, but immediately ate a left hook. Hunt’s right eye looked swollen shut. Miocic landed an elbow. Miocic held him in the clinch to the horn and to a swell of boos. This fight just needs to end.
Penick’s Scorecard: 10-9 Miocic. He’s tired, but still doing a lot of damage. Hunt is out of this, and this should be stopped.
-The doctor comes in to see if Hunt can open his eye. He talks the doctor out, and the doctor lets him continue as well. Ugh. Stop the damn fight already.
ROUND FIVE: Miocic immediately took Hunt down and the crowd booed. He wasn’t looking to land a ton, instead just holding position more than anything. More boos. Not much happening, but I suppose that’s somewhat better than some more clear brain damage. The crowd chants “stand them up” loudly. Boos when that doesn’t happen. Hunt isn’t doing anything here. Miocic not throwing significant damage. The ref told Hunt to fight back, Miocic kept throwing strikes. They weren’t doing much, but Hunt wasn’t either, and the ref kept giving him chances to do something. He finally stepped in to finish it. That was a very ugly fight.
WINNER: Miocic via TKO at 2:47 of the fifth round
STAR RATING: (n/a) I hate 85% of what transpired there. Miocic did a great job implementing his gameplan through the first two minutes. Unfortunately, when it started devolving into a one-sided beating in the third and neither the ref, Hunt’s corner, or the doctor thought to rightfully stop it, it leaves a really bad feeling to how that played out. Fighters need to be saved from themselves, and Hunt took some years off his life because no one felt it appropriate to step in and end that. Just a gross way to end the night.
Well, that’s the card for tonight, we’ll have more reaction to the event as the week goes on, and we’ll look ahead to next Saturday morning’s UFC Fight Night 66 event from the Philippines!
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