6 Takeaways From UFC Auckland
UFC visited New Zealand for just the second time ever. What went down?
Auckland, New Zealand was the site of UFC Fight Night 110, pitting home town hero Mark Hunt against Derrick Lewis in an enticing main event between two of the hardest hitting heavyweights on the planet. The heavyweight division isn't always one that delivers the most exciting five round affairs, but knowing this fight could end at any moment with one punch was half the intrigue of this battle of the big men.
A card very much designed for the Oceanic crowd, pitting Australia and New Zealand's finest (with the exception of Robert Whittaker, who's booked for UFC 213), there was a lot to like on this card wherever you were from. An interesting co-main event featuring Australia's Dan Kelly against America's Derek Brunson promised to further confuse an already jumbled up middleweight title picture.
Elsewhere on the card, Ross Pearson needed to defeat another home town kid in Dan Hooker to stop the rot, and Ben Nguyen faced Tim Elliott in a flyweight bout with potential title implications down the line. We saw finishes aplenty and even a teased retirement on this show.
Check out all the big stories from a crazy night of fights in the Queen City.
6. Mark Hunt... You've Still Got It
At 43, and the oldest fighter in the promotion, Mark Hunt keeps finding ways to get the job done. While his relationship with the UFC isn't exactly sunshine and lollipops right now, they gave him the big push going into this fight with the main event slot in his home town, and he duly delivered with a 4th round TKO win over a visibly exhausted Derrick Lewis who was saved from himself as Hunt started dropping bombs.
Lewis spent much of this fight with his back against the cage, and it created an interesting stand-off as two guys with huge power were extremely wary and respectful of what the other man could do with one punch. An intriguing battle you couldn't take your eyes off despite long periods of inactivity, Hunt just outlasted his younger foe, and it was a testament to Hunt's superior conditioning, which isn't a sentence you should get used to hearing.
Lewis gets married next week and did say it was likely his last fight in the UFC as he doesn't want to keep putting his family through this. Coming off six straight wins going into this one, that might come as a surprise to many. Lewis though has never made a secret of the fact that he never saw this as a long term career. He might be back, but don't be surprised if this is a retirement that actually sticks.
But the night belonged to Hunt, who has had quite a remarkable career. There can't have been many guys who came into UFC on a five fight losing streak and then made it six in his UFC debut, but he's turned it around in a big way. That was his 4th win since turning 40, and judging by that performance, there's life in the old dog yet.