When heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Mark Hunt were paired together, mixed martial arts fans expected a show. That’s exactly what they got Saturday night form the headline bout of a UFC Fight Night event in Auckland, New Zealand.
The two knockout artists traded haymakers until Hunt, the oldest fighter on the UFC roster at age 43, earned a TKO victory in the fourth round.
Lewis started strong, throwing frequent head kicks, jumping switch kicks, and uppercuts that began at the hip. Hunt, born in South Auckland, caught his opponent with an elbow as Lewis stepped in for a punch midway through the second round and Hunt carried the momentum from there.
Hunt also battered Lewis’s left leg with heavy kicks as the fight progressed and it made an impact in the second half of the fight. Lewis spent much of the third round circling to his left trying to catch his breath and after the fight he cited a recurring lower-back injury that bothered him during the match. The referee stopped the action in the fourth round after Hunt pinned a fatigued Lewis against the cage and continued to inflict damage.
Hunt currently has an active lawsuit against the UFC, Dana White and Brock Lesnar. He thanked Lewis after the fight for not being on steroids and said the sport needs to be cleaned up.
Lewis dropped a bit of a bombshell following the bout, suggesting this was “most likely” his last fight in the UFC.
Middleweight contender Derek Brunson ended Dan Kelly’s improbable win streak, landing an overhand left and putting the 39-year-old Australian away early in the first round of the co-main event. Brunson was coming off a controversial decision loss to Anderson Silva in February while Kelly, a four-time Olympic judoka, had won four straight including one over former UFC champion Rashad Evans.
Also on the main card, Auckland’s Dan Hooker set the home crowd ablaze with a brilliantly-timed knee that put veteran Ross Pearson to sleep in the second round of a lightweight bout. Hooker handed Pearson his fourth consecutive loss.
Ion “The Hulk” Cutelaba fought true to his nickname, smashing Henrique da Silva in just 22 seconds. It was the seventh-fastest knockout in UFC light-heavyweight history and his first stoppage win in the UFC. Cutelaba is just 2-2 in the Octagon but the 23-year-old Moldovan is one of the more intriguing prospects in the division.
Ben Nguyen improved to 4-1 in the UFC with a 49-second submission of Tim Elliott. Nguyen rocked Elliott early with a kick and then a knee, took his back and locked in a rear-naked choke. It was a surprise result considering level of grappler Elliott is and the hot streak he was on. Elliott gave Demetirous Johnson his toughest challenge in years back in December, losing a competitive five-round decision.
The preliminary card was highlighted by Vinc Pichel’s knockout victory over Damien Brown. It had been more than three years since Pichel (10-1) had competed.
Here are the complete results from UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Hunt.
MAIN CARD
— Mark Hunt def. Derrick Lewis by TKO
— Derek Brunson def. Dan Kelly by knockout
— Dan Hooker def. Ross Pearson by knockout
— Ion Cutelaba def. Henrique da Silva by knockout
— Ben Nguyen def. Tim Elliott by submission (rear-naked choke)
— Alexander Volkanovski def. Mizuto Hirota by unanimous decision
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Vinc Pichel def. Damien Brown by knockout
— Luke Jumeau def. Dominique Steele by unanimous decision
— John Moraga def. Ashkan Mokhtarian by unanimous decision
— Zak Ottow def. Kiichi Kunimoto by split decision
— JJ Aldrich def. Chan-Mi Jeon by unanimous decision
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