Going all out Down Under (UFC Fight Night 33 Review)
The UFC is beginning the end of another year of fights where they would travel to even more places and have more fights than ever before. With UFC Fight Night 33 marking the last free fight of the year the UFC would take one more trip this time to Australia. Australia has become a bit of a home away from home for the UFC with plenty of great fighters and an appetite for MMA. There have been a few of these places in the past few years as the UFC has expanded far beyond the borders of the USA. Canada receives two fights every year, one in Toronto and one in Montreal, while the UFC travels regularly to Brazil and Britain multiple times a year. These three locations along with places all over the USA have become the homes to the UFC. They are not satisfied with that alone though as 2014 is fast approaching and so are a number of unique chances for the UFC to expand. In 2014 the UFC has already planned a fight for Singapore and will expand on their international events by planning events for England, Ireland, Scotland, Poland, Turkey, Sweden, and Germany. The UFC will be returning to many of their other markets and will continue to expand into new markets. They will not stop there as there are plenty of other plans in the process to return to old markets and expand to new ones. Another big aspect of the expansion will be the addition of a number of new international Ultimate Fighter series. Work is already being done on TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia and plans for versions in Mexico, Japan, China, the Philippines, and a few more. The UFC is planning on becoming the largest sport in the world by expanding to places that other massive sports cannot reach. The NFL is the largest league in North America but outside of Canada, USA, and Mexico there is not much of a following. To expand to another country outside of North America would mean big costs and is not likely, despite rumours of London getting a team. This is something the UFC can take advantage of as they can go to any number of countries and make this sport truly international. The expansion will also means many more events in 2014 that will not be timed for North American TV giving international fans a chance to see fights at decent hours. As the global expansion increases the UFC continues to grow and they continue to be international and that was expressed at UFC Fight Night 33 when New Zealander Mark Hunt took on Brazilian Antonio Silva in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Both fighters would be representing the international flavor of the UFC along with the rest of the card but more than that they were both looking to recover from big losses. With two knockout artists facing off it was sure to be a fight full of fireworks with both fighters looking to pick up a bonus by finishing the fight. It would all start with both fighters taking a calculated approach in the 5-round fight. Both fighters had trained together and knew they might be going beyond three rounds so they would begin by circling and finding their range. It wasn’t until the 3rd round when Mark Hunt would land a great straight left that would put Silva on the mat. That would be the start of the better part of 2 minutes of dominance by Hunt. Throwing short hammerfists and elbows on Silva and opening a few cuts. Then came round four when both fighters forgot about the gas tank and went all out. Both Silva and Hunt would land big punches and both fighters would seem out on their feet at different times. They would throw massive exchanges and eventually the fight would go to the ground with Antonio Silva on top unleashing big elbows and punches. Hunt would survive just enough to see the start of the fifth round as he seemed on the brink for a long time. The Fifth round would see an exhausted Silva eat some of Hunt’s best shots as the two fighters left everything they had in the octagon trying to finish the fight. When the bell rang for the end of the fight there was nothing left in either fighter as they would throwing everything they had at each other trying to finish. It was clearly one of the best fights of the year and in the end it was a tough decision as to who would win the fight and that would be true of the judges as well. The end result was a majority draw with two judges marking it a draw while another marked it for Hunt. The result means that a rematch has to happen as both fighters proved nothing except that they know how to put on an amazing fight.
The international flavor would continue throughout the card including the second last fight when Australian James Te Huna took on Brazilian Mauricio Rua. The fight was important for both fighters but it was that much more important for Rua. Shogun is a legend in MMA and has titles from every major fight promotion in the world. He would make his way to becoming a legend Rua would patent a zombie-like style of fighting. Always plodding forward Rua would be one of the toughest guys to knock out and for that he would continue to earn championships. That style would do great things for Rua but lately the 32-year-old has started to lose his chin and in turn started to lose fights. He is not the same fighter as he once was and would come into the fight against a hungry James Te Huna. It was said before the fight that if Rua lost the fight retirement would be brought up by Dana White. The UFC president does not generally get involved in retirement talks for many fighters but every now and then he does sit fighters down and tell them it might be time. He would do this for Chuck Liddell when Liddell wanted to keep fighting but was doing damage to his legend with multiple losses before Dana White suggested he leave the fight game. Rua could have possibly received the same talk after Fight Night as his career was winding down and a loss could have been the final push. It was not a mystery as to what both fighters would do as Rua and Te Huna were both known for their stand-up. Neither fighter was willing to go to the ground in this fight as Rua was wanting to show that his KO power was still there and Te Huna wanted to add a legend to his win column. The fight would run as predicted as both fighters will willing to stand and trade with each other. It would not last long though as Te Huna would leave his chin open for a split second letting Rua slip in a short left hand and ending the fight. Rua would stave off retirement for the time being as he would earn a big KO that kept him alive in the UFC. It was another great fight in Australia that highlighted the international fighters and the talent of the UFC outside of North America.
Fight Bonuses
Knockout of the Night
Mauricio Rua would make a statement at Fight Night 33 when he would earn a big knockout win over James Te Huna and for his efforts he would get an extra $50,000 for the Knockout of the Night
Fight of the Night
There was no question as to what would win the Fight of the Night as Antonio Silva and Mark Hunt left everything they had in the octagon for one of the best fights of the year and they would earn $50,000 each for their efforts
Fight Results
Main Event:
Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva
(Majority Draw)
Main Card:
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua def. James Te Huna
(KO; Rd. 1)
Ryan “Darth” Bader def. Anthony “The Hippo” Perosh
(Unanimous Decision)
Soa “The Hulk” Palelei def. Pat “HD” Barry
(TKO; Rd. 1)
Clint “Headbussa” Hester def. Dylan “The Villain” Andrews
(TKO, Doctor’s Stoppage; Rd. 2)
Bethe “Pitbull” Correia def. Julie “Fireball” Kedzie
(Split Decision)
Undercard:
Takeya Mizugaki def. Nam Phan
(Unanimous Decision)
Caio “Hellboy” Magalhaes def. Nick “The Promise” Ring
(Unanimous Decision)
Justin “Tank” Scoggins def. Richie “Vas” Vaculik
(TKO; Rd. 1)
Krzysztof Jotko def. Bruno “Carioca” Santos
(Unanimous Decision)
Alex “The Dominican” Garcia def. Ben “Manimal” Wall
(KO; Rd. 1)
Upcoming Events
UFC on FOX 9: Johnson vs. Benavidez II (Saturday December 14th; 8:00 pm ET)
Sacramento, California (Sleep Train Arena)
Main Event: Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez [Flyweight Title]
Notable: Urijah “The California Kid” Faber vs. Michael “Mayday” McDonald
Notable: Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit vs. Matt “The Immortal” Brown
UFC 168: Weidman vs. Silva II (Saturday December 28th; 10:00 pm ET)
Las Vegas, Nevada (MGM Grand Garden Arena)
Main Event: Chris “The All-American” Weidman vs. Anderson “The Spider” Silva [Middleweight Title]
Notable: “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey vs. Meisha “Cupcake” Tate [Women’s Bantamweight Title]
Notable: Josh “The Warmaster” Barnett vs. Travis “Hapa” Browne
UFC Fight Night 34: Saffiedine vs. Lim (Saturday January 4th; 9:00 am ET)
Marina Bay, Singapore (Marina Bay Sands)
Main Event: Tarec “Sponge” Saffiedine vs. Hyun Gyu “The Ace” Lim
Notable: Kiichi Kunimoto vs. Luiz “Besouro” Dutra
Notable: Kyung Ho “Mr. Perfect” Kang vs. Shunichi Shimizu
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