UFC FN 65: Stipe Miocic massacres Mark Hunt and closes in on the heavyweight belt

S. Miocic (right) lands an elbow on M. Hunt (left) in the main fight of UFC FN 65. Photo: UFC/Getty Images

A massacre! This is how the heavyweight's performance can be summed up. Stipe Miocic before Mark Hunt. In the main fight of UFC Fight Night 65, an event held in the early hours of this Sunday (10), in Adelaide, Australia, the North American dominated his rival during almost 23 minutes of combat and won by technical knockout in the fifth round. The result left Miocic, currently fourth in the heavyweight rankings, close to a shot at the category's belt.

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The fight

In the clash between Miocic and Hunt, fourth and fifth in the heavyweight rankings, respectively, a balanced fight was to be expected. But with a confident performance, Stipe didn't want to take any chances with the New Zealander's stand-up game and, with a tactically perfect fight, he controlled the actions from the start.

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In the first round, the North American looked for a takedown. Even with a greater wingspan, Miocic closed the distance to get at Mark's legs. At first, the New Zealander, who had the support of the Australian fans, even managed to defend. However, he ended up being knocked down in the first round.

More comfortable in the fight, the American repeated the strategy in the second round and put Hunt on the ground. On top, he struck a few times and even tried to land a guillotine choke, but Hunt got up.

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In the third round, the fight was close to the end. After taking down Mark in the first few seconds, Miocic threw several punches at the New Zealander, who, without reacting, just defended himself. The referee had the opportunity to stop the fight, but preferred to let the fight continue until Stipe got tired of hitting.

History repeated itself in the fourth round. With Mark Hunt extremely tired and very worn out, Stipe Miocic continued with his strategy without any major difficulties. With the support of the fans, the New Zealander still managed to get up in the final minute, but he didn't have the energy to do anything else.

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The fight was defined in the fifth and final round. Following the script of the previous partials, the North American took down Mark Hunt in the first movements and began the punishment. With several punches to the New Zealander's face, referee John Sharp was forced to end the contest at 2:43 of the last round.

With victory Stipe Miocic reaches a record of 14 wins and two defeats. Now, the North American of Croatian descent awaits the winner of the duel between Cain Velazquez, current champion, against Fabricio Werdum, owner of the interim belt, to find out if he will be next in the category and compete for the title.

Quick knockouts

If the main fight between Stipe Miocic e Mark Hunt was dragged, the same cannot be said about the two battles that preceded it. In the second most important fight of the night, the Australian Robert whittaker It only took 44 seconds to make the local fans happy. With a sequence of two blows, he took Brad Tavares the knockout.

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In turn, the American Sean O'Connell was also fast. He needed just 56 seconds to knock out 42-year-old veteran Anthony Perosh. With a quick sequence of punches, Sean shook the Australian and knocked out his rival standing up.

Preliminary Card

The opening program of UFC Fight Night 65 was also intense. In eight fights, only two reached the judges' decision. Between knockouts, submissions and comebacks, the highlights of the opening program are the 'smiling' Sam alvey. After getting ready to weigh in, the fighter with a 'perfect tan' knocked out Dan Kelly in an incredible 49 seconds.