UFC Fight Night 65: The Card That Delivered Down Under

The title says it all, UFC Fight Night 65 rocked our world last night (Saturday May 9th, 2015) with a blockbuster card in Adelaide, Australia. The card, on paper, was mediocre at best, but once again the unsung heroes of the promotion’s ranks made it a helluva night.

Much of the UFC Fight Night 65 hype centred on the heavyweight main event, and quite rightly so; Mark Hunt is a huge fan favorite the world over, let alone in his home country of Australia. The New Zeland-born Aussie native suffered a harsh TKO loss to Stipe Miocic, but the result did little to taint the overall feel of the card.

With 10 finishes from 12 fights, and six in the first round, it’s hard to argue against the powerful punch of entertainment that we all witnessed. Much like cards in the past, also Fight Night events, there were little-to-no stars to make the card stand out.

Once again we’ve been taught that star power really means nothing, it all depends on the matchmaking, the atmosphere on the night and how the fighters perform. Perhaps the somewhat outdated point of view about having names to make cards can be forgotten now, at least when it comes to Fight Night cards.

After all, aren’t we all along for this crazy ride for the same reason; To see great fights and to have Mixed Martial Arts represented in it’s truest form? Highlights of the night for me included:

Dan Hooker’s killer KO

Dan Hooker took on Hatsu Hioki in the feature preliminary bout, and it was just the medicine needed to cap off the superb prelims, and to kick off the main card. Hooker, a huge underdog against Hioki, pulled out a head kick from hell, putting his foe’s lights out cold in the second round of their exciting barn burner.

Whittaker whoops Tavares

The middleweight clash between Robert Whittaker and Brad Tavares didn’t last long, as the 44 second mark saw a vicious knockout from the hometown hero. Whittaker unleashed a monstrous combination of punches early on, putting away the Hawaiian with a spectacular first round KO.

‘Smiling’ Sam strikes again

Sam Alvey extended his middleweight win streak to three last night, with all three coming by stoppage from strikes in the opening round. His tanned-on sponsor was just the icing on the cake for the entertaining middleweight up-and-comer.

Overall, the card was an absolute blast, anyone else enjoy watching this card more than the last two PPV shows?