UFC fans at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and across the globe on TV were treated to the exciting card that was UFC Fight Night 33: Hunt vs Bigfoot.
Though the results were not favourable to the local heroes (out of seven fighters: one win, one draw and five losses) the fights were nonetheless exciting.
The main event between Mark ‘Super Samona’ Hunt and Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva was not expected to last very long.
What eventuated was a five-round war in which both fighters were hurt, bleeding and exhausted yet neither refused to quit, much to the delight of the sold-out crowd.
Bigfoot came out and showed a surprising variety in his strikes, working both leg kicks and spinning heel kicks against the Samoan.
On the other hand, Hunt displayed much-improved wrestling skills as he scored with several takedowns and defended Bigfoot’s shots.
In the end, both men walked away with their heads held high as the fight was ruled a majority draw.
One judge scored it for Hunt 48-47 while the other two had it 47-47.
In the post-fight interview, Bigfoot cited a back injury he sustained in training a few weeks back.
The fight won the UFC’s Fight of the Night award and both Hunt and Silva will be awarded their win bonuses.
Shogun returns triumphantly
In the day’s co-main event, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua returned to winning form in a quick knockout victory over James Te Huna.
Shogun once again displayed the tools that won him the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix – quick footwork, brutal leg kicks, a solid Thai clinch and knockout power.
Shogun landed a counter left hook as Te Huna had his right hand down while throwing an uppercut. That was all it took to end the fight.
“I’m very happy and emotional for this win,” Shogun said.
“I’ve made a big sacrifice during this training camp, I moved to another city and was away from my family and friends but it has paid off as the reward is great.
“I’m so proud of my team and all of our efforts.
“The strategy was to move and connect. Use my speed and find the openings.”
“I want to say thank you to all of my Brazilian fans and other fans around the world. They are the source of my motivation.”
Other results
Ryan Bader vs Anthony Perosh – Bader via unanimous decision
Pat Barry vs Soa ‘The Hulk’ Palelei – Palelei via KO 1
Dylan ‘The Villain’ Andrews vs. Clint ‘Headbussa’ Hester – Hester via TKO end of Round 2 (shoulder injury)
Julie Kedzie vs Bethe Correia – Correia via split decision
Preliminary results
Nam Phan vs Takeya Mizugaki – Mizugaki via unanimous decision
Nick ‘The Promise’ Ring vs. Caio ‘Hellboy’ Magalhaes – Magalhaes via unanimous decision
Richie Vas Vaculik vs Justin Scoggins – Scoggins via TKO 1
Bruno ‘Carioca’ Santos vs Krzysztof Jotko – Jotko via unanimous decision
Preliminary (online) result
Ben ‘Manimal’ Wall vs. Alex ‘The Dominican Nightmare’ Garcia – Garcia via KO 1
Talking points
• The Brisbane Entertainment Centre was absolutely deafening. Amazing crowd!
• Hunt vs Silva will go down as one of the most exciting fights in recent history. Surprising that it wasn’t on a pay-per-view.
• UFC exec Tom Wright has said that the UFC will be looking to come back in the latter half of 2014 and they’re hoping to do more than one event a year on our shores. The biggest roadblock is the cage legislation in VIC and WA.
• The rumours of Shogun’s demise were greatly exaggerated!
• Though Perosh’s performance didn’t go the way he wanted, he proved without a doubt that he is a game and tough competitor. Still, it’s hard to see him cracking the upper echelons of the light-heavyweight division.
• Soa’s ground-and-pound KO of Barry was brutal to watch. At age 36 The Hulk will be looking to stake a claim in the UFC heavyweight division quickly – keep an eye out.
• Unfortunate end to Dylan Andrews’ night via shoulder injury. He’ll hopefully return to form quickly.
• Kedzie vs Correia was the first women’s UFC fight in Australia. As Tom Wright put it, “Whenever the girls fight, it’s a terrific fight.”
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