- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Australian middleweight Robert Whittaker has claimed a powerhouse opening-round victory over American Derek Brunson in their UFC clash in Melbourne.
Whittaker was named the winner by technical knockout late in the first round of Sunday’s main event at Rod Laver Arena.
The much-anticipated bout proved to be a short-lived slugfest with not much in the way of grappling as both men exchanged heavy blows.
Brunson was relentless in chasing Whittaker at the start of the fight but appeared unsteady on his feet and left his guard open, allowing New Zealand-born Whittaker to capitalise with left and right hooks.
The slugfest was brought to a stop after four minutes when Whittaker floored Brunson with a brutal kick and landed a flurry of punches to his head.
Whittaker (18-4) has now won five straight bouts since moving into the middleweight division and shapes as a future middleweight title contender.
Melbourne’s Jake Matthews fell to a disappointing split decision loss in front of a parochial hometown crowd in his co-main event lightweight bout with American Andrew Holbrook.
The dour contest largely played out on Holbrook’s terms, with Matthews sucked into fighting at ground level and appearing to injure his foot.
Two of the three judges handed the fight to Holbrook, who frustrated Matthews with an array of arm and leg holds.
Earlier, four-time Olympic judoka and local favourite Dan Kelly brought the house down with a show-stealing win by unanimous decision over American Chris Camozzi.
The 39-year-old’s face was covered in blood after copping a brutal Camozzi elbow in the opening round but his superior grappling ability soon came to the fore, allowing him to pin Camozzi to the canvas and unleash a flurry of blows to his head late in the fight.
Australian light heavyweight Tyson Pedro and lightweight Alexander Volkanovski each made impressive UFC debuts.
Pedro claimed an opening-round victory by submission over American heavy-hitter Khalil Rountree after locking in a rear naked chokehold.
Volkanovski was simply dominant in his bout with Japan’s Yusuke Kasuya, claiming a technical knockout halfway through the second round.
Veteran Australian Kyle Noke announced his retirement via Twitter after going down to Russian Omari Akhmedov in a unanimous decision.
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.