UFC Fight Night 65: Post-Fight Review

Stipe Miocic(Left) and Mark Hunt(Right) headlined UFC FN 65

The UFC Fight Night 65-Adelaide was a stellar show. The crowd got to see some great performances from the fighters. The main card saw all the fights except for the main event finish in the first round itself with some grueling TKO’s and submissions on display. Below is a quick glance at the results from the prelims:

Preliminary card results:

• Daniel Hooker def Hatsu Hioki via Knockout- Round 2
• Kyle Noke def Jonavin Webb via Split Decision
• Sam Alvey def Daniel Kelly via TKO- Round 1
• Bec Rawlings def Lisa Ellis via submission – Round 1
• Brad Scott def Dylan Andrews via Submission – Round 2
• Alex Chambers def Kalin Currian via Submission – Round 3
• Brandon O’Reilly def Vik Grujic via Unanimous Decision
• Ben Nguyen def Alpetkin Ozkilic via TKO – Round 1

We take a look at the post fight analysis of the main card matches at UFC 65 below:

James Vick vs Jake Matthews

The main card draw kicked off with the lightweights James Vick and Jake Matthews .The bout was interesting to look forward to as it was between two undefeated upcoming talents in the UFC. Matthews got things started off when he landed a good right hand and slammed Vick on to the mat. Vick was able to get up early and then a good exchange between the two fighters happened with Matthews landing a good left and Vick replying back with a good uppercut, Matthews answered back with a glancing right of his own.

The match was temporarily halted due to Matthews getting an unintentional eye poke from Vick.Vick’s reach advantage played a big role in the match when he connected a good jumping knee and then a modified guillotine choke which made Matthews tap with seven seconds remaining in the first round. James Vick Has certainly propelled himself up the rankings by conquering his toughest test to date.

Result : James Vick defeats Jake Matthews via Submission(Guillotine Choke) – Round 1

Sean O'Connell VS Antony Perrosh

The match between O’Connell and Perrosh was termed as the fight between the two extremes, with both fighters having two different approach and styles of fighting. O’Connell the brawler and Perrosh the takedown specialist.The match was very much one sided with O’Connell coming all guns blazing right from the start, backing up Perrosh against the fence and landing some good shots. Perrosh tried to fight back but was getting battered with heavy shots.

O’Connell started another flurry of shots this time with two big lefts and then a good punch combination followed, Perrosh getting hit and not fighting back was enough for the referee to stop the fight which gave O’Connell an impressive first round win.

Result : Sean O’Connell defeats Antony Perrosh via TKO- Round 1

Brad Tavares VS Robert Whittaker:

Robert Whittaker took on Brad Tavares in a match up where both fighters have similar fighting styles, Brad Tavares the 14th ranked middleweight was looking for a win which would propel him further up the rankings while Whittaker was facing his toughest opponent till date.Whittaker got a leg kick from Tavares at the start, but landed a good left hook which rattled Tavares and knocked him to the ground, which he recovered from. Whittaker got a huge left hook in again and a third one which knocked out Tavares and the fight finished at 44 seconds in round one. Whittaker in only his second fight at middleweight has shown that he can step up against the elite and has done so with a statement by knocking out Brad Tavares. Big fights await Robert Whittaker.

Result : Robert Whittaker defeats Brad Tavares by Knockout-Round 1

Stipe Miocic VS Mark Hunt

The main event saw a heavyweight bout between Stipe Miocic and Mark Hunt with the winner potentially in line for the UFC Heavyweight title fight . Miocic looked to carry his good form which had seen him giving former champ Junior Dos Santos a headache in his last fight while Mark Hunt was looking to make a statement by trying to knock Miocic out.

The opening round saw both men getting in some good shots with Miocic landing some good counter punches , getting the take down and giving Hunt a good ground and pound while Hunt was able to land a left kick and a good left hook .Miocic stepped up a gear in the following rounds as he showed his takedown skill and stamina by relentlessly taking Hunt down and hurting him with vicious elbows and hard shots, even when Hunt was able to get up the ground and pound which he suffered took a toll on him and had totally drained him which was evident while Hunt was throwing punches. The referee should have stopped the fight in the 3rd as Miocic was relentless in his ground and pound and Hunt was absorbing a huge volume of shots, the 4th saw the same thing again but this time Hunt struggling on with a closed eye and the referee put an end to the fight midway through the fifth giving Miocic a well-deserved win.The win puts Miocic on the road to a heavyweight title fight and his recent performances have proven that he is a force to be reckoned with.

Result- Stipe Miocic defeats Mark Hunt by TKO – Round 5