Historic UFC Moments In Australia

The main event of the first UFC fight card in Australia was the fight that confirmed Velasquez as the top contender in the heavyweight division, and would be his final fight before ascending to the throne by knocking off Brock Lesnar.

This was supposed to be the surging Velasquez’ greatest test — a date with the legendary Brazilian, who had held gold in PRIDE, the interim title in the UFC, and was coming off a win over Randy Couture in the Fight of the Year at UFC 102 the previous summer. Instead, it was the bout that confirmed all the things we’d always heard about Velasquez as a prospect and potential title threat.

Watch It Now on UFC FIGHT PASS

Everything Velasquez brought to the table as a fighter was on display here, from his footwork and speed to the variety in his attacks and the power contained within them, and the short, swift combination that put Nogueira down is the kind of thing you don’t see in the heavyweight division.

Blink and you miss it. He lands a counter left to the chin chased by a right on the other side, and bounces another left off Nogueira’s head only because he’s already crashing to the canvas.

This was a statement win from the future champion.

Michael Bisping vs Jorge Rivera (UFC 127)

Michael Bisping and I don’t have any beef whatsoever — our interactions have always been cordial, our conversations always enjoyable — but if the UFC announced tomorrow that “The Count” and I would be getting into a scrap at a future event, the former middleweight champion would find a way to make it personal.

That’s what happened here, as Bisping got real bothered by a series of videos the veteran journeyman Rivera and his team produced, elevating what was a good fight into a must-see co-main event.

Watch It On UFC FIGHT PASS

Except this wasn’t fabricated fury that died down the minute the two men stepped into the Octagon. In fact, it went the other way, with Bisping riding the animus and vitriol into the fight and allowing it to spill over into his performance, as midway through the first round, the Brit landed a nasty illegal knee to the downed Rivera could have ended the fight.

Trash talk and bickering on social media is commonplace these days, but this was one of the earlier instances of pre-fight tensions ratcheting up the intrigue surrounding a fight, and everyone that was a fan at the time very much remembers the build to this one and the way it played out.

Mark Hunt vs Antonio Silva I (UFC Fight Night 33)

Eleven fights, 11 finishes, including five in the first round, and only one trip to the third frame, which lasted all of 18 seconds.

This card featured the familiar construction pattern of overseas Fight Night events, with a number of talents from the Oceanic regional stepping into the Octagon, and the main event featuring a meaningful, competitive battle — in this case, the first bout between middleweight standouts and future rivals Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping.

Watch It Again On UFC FIGHT PASS

Getting through the seven preliminary card fights without a decision gave you a feeling something cool might be happening, and the excitement was heightened when Robert Whittaker stopped Clint Hester and Al Iaquinta put away Ross Pearson, leaving the main event as the lone remaining contest.

To this point in his career, Bising wasn’t someone that was easy to put away; he’d only lost six times and had only been finished twice — once at UFC 100 by Dan Henderson and then at the start of 2013 in Brazil by Vitor Belfort. But Rockhold was in the zone, having earned two previous stoppage wins already that year, and made it 3-for-3 by snatching up a mounted one-armed guillotine choke on Bisping to close out the night.

This stood as the only instance of every fight ending inside the distance until last summer, when the Ultimate Fighter finale card — UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill — saw all 10 fights end in finishes, as well.

Holly Holm vs Ronda Rousey (UFC 193)

Where were you when?

When Holm arrived in the UFC earlier in the year, this was the fight everyone was waiting for, but very few people predicted it going the way it did.

Rousey was coming off another blowout victory, having successfully defended her bantamweight title against Bethe Correia just a couple months earlier and was in the midst of her mainstream media breakthrough. Holm was a decorated boxer, undefeated in mixed martial arts, and a deserving challenger, but she was the calm counterpart to the more fiery champion.

All week leading up the fight, Rousey seemed more fired up than usual. She carried that into the Octagon and Holm used it against her, expertly picking her apart with counters and sniper fire as the out-gunned titleholder marched forward. In a flash, the invincible Rousey was shown to be human, and even more surprisingly, was clearly on the way to losing her title.

Watch It Again On UFC FIGHT PASS

The final moments of the fight will remain etched in my memory forever: Holm ducking out of the way of a charging Rousey, who turns around, bloodied and stunned; the straight left hand that puts the champion on shaky footing; the high kick that dislodges her from the bantamweight throne, and Holm instantly breaking down into tears, covering her face.

If you were watching at the time, you remember exactly where you were this night.

(Note: I was at home in Abbotsford, shouting at my television, much to the dismay of my wife and dog.)

Neil Magny vs Hector Lombard (UFC Fight Night 85)

Certainly not the biggest or most memorable fight on this list, this was one of the wildest reversals of fortune we’ve seen in the Octagon.

In Round 1, Lombard, the compact Cuban power hitter who only had one gear and threw everything with murderous intentions, went one-for-one with his takedowns, accumulating more than three minutes of control time and landed 50 of 62 significant strikes. In simple terms, he dominated Magny, who was stuck on bottom, desperate to survive.

Watch It Again On UFC FIGHT PASS

But all that drubbing without a finish tired Lombard out, and in the second, Magny flipped the script.

The former Ultimate Fighter contestant and the man with the most wins in welterweight history landed a preposterous 114 significant strikes in the second, matching Lombard’s 80 percent hit rate from the first, to not only draw level, but make it clear that he was going to win the fight. It probably should have been stopped at some point towards the end of the round or once the bell sounded and Lombard struggled to get to his corner, but it was mercifully halted less than a minute into the third when Magny resumed bombing away with impunity.

This was an absolutely wild fight and a crazy change in momentum from one round to the next.

Robert Whittaker vs Derek Brunson (UFC Fight Night 101)

There are lots of times when you hear about a new arrival and people are gushing about their skills, forecasting future title reigns and all-time great status before they’ve even set foot in the Octagon. Most of the time, those athletes fall short of their advanced billing, but sometimes, those athletes turn out to be Israel Adesanya.

“The Last Stylebender” had a name from his kickboxing days, and those that knew of him believed he could do big things in the UFC middleweight division.

Watch It Again On UFC FIGHT PASS

Paired off with Wilkinson in his promotional debut, Adesanya did not disappoint, putting his full striking arsenal on display in the eight minutes and 37 seconds it took to dispatch his Australian counterpart. Adesanya then cut a terrific promo on the mic following the victory, instantly transforming himself into a must-see figure.

A year later, he headlined UFC 234 in Melbourne. Two months after that, he claimed the interim middleweight title in an epic battle against Kelvin Gastelum, and in the fall… well, we’ll get to that.

Dan Hooker vs Al Iaquinta (UFC 243)

Just under six months after Adesanya vanquished Gastelum and claimed the interim middleweight title, he faced off with Whittaker in a title unification bout that turned into a coronation.

Adesanya was sharp from the outset and Whittaker looked hurried and out of sorts from the jump, and the combination produced a one-sided fight that prompted Whittaker to hit the pause button and recalibrate things after this one was over.

Watch It Again On UFC FIGHT PASS

Whittaker felt like he was reaching and pressing throughout, and Adesanya countered him well, dropping him at the horn at the end of the first round with a beautifully timed right hand. It was more of the same in the second, with Adesanya touching up Whittaker and avoiding much of what was coming back his way, and when they met in the center with a little over 90 seconds remaining in the frame, Adesanya’s sharpness and quickly won him the fight.

Both men planted and fired, but the City Kickboxing man beat Whittaker to the punch with the secondary offerings, felling him with a left hand before Whittaker could find the target. He chased him down, landed a few follow ups, and the fight was stopped.

In 20 months, Adesanya went from making his debut to standing atop the middleweight division, with each of those bookend moments taking place in Australia.