UFC Brisbane: A card of uncertain Aussies

This Sunday, when the UFC returns Down Under, a pair of adopted Aussies are looking to collect arguably the most important scalps of their respective careers.

Mark Hunt, a brick-fisted slugger from Sydney, could realistically be fighting to keep his career alive in the main event of UFC’s television card from the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

At 41, there’s no mistaking that Hunt is at the tail end of his career. The ninth-ranked UFC contender has paid his bills with his patented knockout punch since 1998, but almost two decades later is paying the price for his years of brawls.

Hunt snapped a two-fight losing skid last November, rattling enormous Brazilian striker Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva with a finishing blow in the first round.

The globetrotting prize fighter aims to replicate that success this weekend against Frank Mir, a former two-time UFC title carrier who holds the record for most fights, victories and submissions in UFC heavyweight history.

On paper, it seems like a hand-chosen victory for Hunt in his adopted backyard. The seasoned puncher is an underrated takedown defender and a championship-level kickboxer who possesses crushing knockout power.

When you factor in that Mir has lost by knockout in seven of his ten documented defeats, most will chalk it up as another highlight reel finish for Australia’s favourite stoic slugger.

And yet, can you confidently push in all your chips behind the oldest fighter on the UFC heavyweight roster? Especially when he’s a battle-tested war horse like Hunt?

Similarly to ‘The Super Samoan’, muscle-bound Aussie resident Hector Lombard is offered a final bid to gain relevancy in the UFC’s welterweight division.

The 38-year-old former Bellator middleweight champion has been sidelined for more than a year due to testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs after a January 2015 fight against Josh Burkman.

Returning to the shark infested welterweight waters, the former Olympic judoka desperately needs a big win if he’s going to make one final dash towards championship gold in arguably the most talent-rich weight class in history.

And Lombard didn’t draw an easy fight in his UFC return, being paired with Neil Magny, a relentless pressure fighter who took five trips to the Octagon during the Aussie sprawl and brawler’s time on the naughty chair.

Assuming that Lombard looks like the same wrecking machine with the finishing instincts of a lion that put the 170-pound division on notice before his flunked drug test, the Cuban-born Aussie would be well-equipped to dispose of a cardio kickboxer like Magny.

But will he? Lombard wouldn’t be the first fighter whose career took a nosedive after a run-in with the drug police.

Hunt and Lombard aren’t alone, though. There are others with question marks surrounding their names in Brisbane as well.

There are serious questions about James Te Huna. Once one of Australia’s best, is the Sydneysider still a threat more than three years removed from his last win?

Four-time Olympic judoka Daniel Kelly also raises doubts. Years on the mats have worn down his body, so at 38, how much does he have left in the tank?

And what about Jake Matthews? Following a concussion scare in his last fight, is the 20-year-old Melbourne boy ready for his toughest career test against Johnny Case?

The only thing I know for sure is that if I were a gambling man I’d be saving my money for the next one.