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Next weekend sees arguably the UFC's biggest Australian star Robert Whittaker clash with Nigerian-New Zealander Israel Adesanya in a rematch for the middleweight title. Because of fighters like these two, the promotion has now grown immeasurably in Australasia.
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The UFC has visited Australia on 15 occasions in the past. Fans Down Under have been treated to some truly classic fights at those events.
With major title changes, huge upsets and back-and-forth wars, Australia has played host to some true classics since its first show in 2010. The winner of next weekend's title bout will hope to headline another there in the future.
Before that, though, here are five of the greatest UFC fights to take place in Australia.
#5. Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall – UFC on FX 2
When the UFC decided to introduce a flyweight division to their roster in early 2012, many fans were intrigued. However, plenty of others had doubts over whether such small fighters could put on entertaining bouts.
Those fears were quickly quashed when the first two flyweight fights, booked for the promotion’s first visit to Australia that year, delivered some hugely entertaining action. However, it was the clash between eventual champion Demetrious Johnson and the highly-rated Ian McCall that really stood out.
Showing off the kind of speed never displayed inside the octagon before, the two men went strike-for-strike and takedown-for-takedown from the start of the fight, never letting up on the frenetic pace for a second.
The first round was practically impossible to split, while the second round saw ‘Mighty Mouse’ take over slightly, landing the better strikes on McCall and working him over with kicks to the legs and the body.
However, in the third round, ‘Uncle Creepy’ turned the tide entirely. After delivering a slam to the future champion, he secured a back mount and began to smash Johnson with elbows and punches. ‘Mighty Mouse’ was able to escape, but only momentarily, as McCall then grounded him again and went to town for a second time.
Realistically, referee John Sharp probably should’ve stopped the fight there. Instead, he felt that McCall hadn’t done quite enough and so the clash went to the judges.
A curious thing then happened, as Johnson was declared the winner in an outright bizarre split decision, only for it to be revealed later that the scorecards had been miscalculated and the fight had actually been declared a draw.
The two men rematched four months later, with Johnson winning a much clearer decision. However, the fight didn’t live up to this initial encounter, which still stands as not only one of the best flyweight bouts of all time, but one of the best in Australia, too.
#4. Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson – UFC Fight Night 101
When the UFC announced that their November 2016 event in Melbourne would be headlined by a middleweight clash between Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson, most fans expected fireworks to ensue.
After all, Whittaker was coming into the fight on the back of a five-fight win streak that including two brutal knockouts. Brunson, meanwhile, was on a run of four straight knockout finishes in his own right.
What ensued was one of the wildest one-round fights in UFC history, with non-stop action for a total of four minutes before the bout ended abruptly and violently in favor of Whittaker.
Early on it looked like Brunson was going to come out on top. Clearly seeking a fifth knockout in a row, he decided to rush ‘The Reaper’ from the off, looking to either take him down or stop him with a brutal flurry.
He appeared to have Whittaker stunned with a combination, but then got far too anxious in his pursuit of a finish. He swung wild haymakers at ‘The Reaper’ while literally chasing him around the octagon.
Whittaker, for his part, remained calm under fire. As Brunson continued to attempt to rush him, he countered with a heavy combination that had the wrestler hurt. Brunson shot for a takedown, only for ‘The Reaper’ to stuff it before nailing him with a head kick.
Clearly hurt, Brunson stumbled to the ground. From there, Whittaker pounced with a series of punches to finish him off.
Nobody would give this fight a lot of points for its technical action, although Whittaker’s fight-ending combination was a thing of beauty. For sheer crazy action inside one round, it remains pretty hard to top.
#3. Hector Lombard vs. Neil Magny – UFC Fight Night 85
When former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard joined the UFC in 2012, big things were expected of the Cuban judoka. However, after losing two of his first three bouts with the promotion, it looked like he would turn out to be a big-money bust.
A move to 170 pounds in 2013 appeared to have reignited his career. He won three bouts in a row, only to find himself suspended for a positive drug test after the third.
Just over a year later, ‘Lightning’ returned to the octagon in his adopted country of Australia. He hoped to jump right back into title contention with a win over Neil Magny, who was on a strong run in his own right, winning nine of his last 10 bouts.
On paper, this looked like a tough fight to pick, but early on at least, it looked like Lombard was going to smash right through the former TUF star.
He leveled Magny with an uppercut in the opening seconds of the fight, and then spent the majority of the first round hammering him with brutal punches to the head. Quite how ‘The Haitian Sensation’ survived the barrage was anyone’s guess, but when the buzzer sounded to end the round, things suddenly looked very different.
Magny appeared to be fine, but Lombard looked exhausted and seemingly couldn’t catch his breath in his corner. Sure enough, it was Magny who came out on the attack, rattling the Cuban with strikes early on. Surprisingly, ‘Lightning’ still had his punching power and a left hand landed to send Magny back to the ground.
This time, though, ‘The Haitian Sensation’ recovered instantly and as Lombard attempted to follow up, he found himself reversed. From there, Magny took full mount and began to return the favor, battering Lombard with dozens of unanswered punches that really should’ve led to the fight being stopped.
Incredibly, referee Steve Perceval let things continue into the third round. However, with Lombard still hurt and exhausted, Magny wasted no time in taking him down and finally sealing the deal with some more ground strikes.
This fight has been largely forgotten in the near-six years that have followed it. However, it remains a stone-cold classic, with one of the best comebacks in recent memory. It definitely stands as one of the best UFC fights to take place in Australia.
#2. Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm – UFC 193
When the UFC headed to Melbourne’s huge Etihad Stadium for the first time in November 2015, they broke the promotion’s attendance record by filling the building with 56,214 fans.
The event was always likely to draw a major crowd, but the truth is that most of those fans were in attendance to watch Ronda Rousey.
The reigning UFC bantamweight queen began her career with the promotion in early 2013 and had quickly shot to fame thanks to her combative attitude, good looks and incredible grappling abilities.
By the time she headed to Melbourne, she’d already reeled off five successful title defenses and had dispatched her last three challengers in just over a minute combined. Because of this, nobody was really giving challenger Holly Holm a shot at beating her, despite her expert striking skills.
However, all of those fans were in for a major surprise in what would go down as one of the UFC’s all-time greatest upsets, as ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ played the matador to Rousey’s bull for two rounds.
‘Rowdy’ seemed to have fallen in love with her stand-up game, but it was always too wild to catch a pinpoint striker like Holm. As she attempted to charge in with haymakers, the challenger began to pick her apart with counters.
When the first round ended, it was clear that Rousey was in trouble and needed to change up her gameplan. Instead, she continued to charge in and after being hurt by a punch, she essentially walked directly into a head kick that knocked her senseless, ending her run as champion in an instant.
The fight sent shockwaves across the globe, as the seemingly unbeatable champion was completely embarrassed. Rousey would fight just one more time and while Holm’s reign as champion didn’t last for long, she would always have Melbourne.
#1. Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva – UFC Fight Night 33
Undoubtedly the best UFC fight to ever take place in Australia happened at one of the final events of 2013. The headliner of that Fight Night show saw a pair of heavyweights throw down in one of the wildest brawls in octagon history. Incredibly, when all was said and done, nothing was really settled.
The fight in question saw local favorite Mark Hunt take on former title challenger Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva. With both men coming off losses, neither could afford to back down an inch.
The first round saw both men exchange heavy blows. Surprisingly, it was ‘Bigfoot’ who landed first, dropping Hunt with a right hand that ‘The Super Samoan’ managed to recover from to get back to his feet.
The second round, in turn, saw Silva extend his lead on the scorecards, using some hefty low kicks to hurt the former K-1 star, buckling his leg on more than one occasion. However, those first two rounds couldn’t prepare anyone for what was about to happen next.
Hunt decided to come out swinging in the third round. While ‘Bigfoot’ was more than happy to oblige, it didn’t take long for ‘The Super Samoan’ to find his range. He dropped the Brazilian with a crushing right hand and hammered him with a series of brutal punches in an attempt to finish him, only for Silva to somehow survive.
From there, things got even crazier, with both men landing some monstrous bombs to the other and both hitting the deck more than once and coming close to finishing the other. By the fifth round, they were both exhausted, appearing to be wading through treacle, but neither fighter would give any quarter. When the final buzzer sounded, both were bloody and beaten, but not broken.
In the end, one judge decided to go for Hunt, but the other two declared the bout a draw, which was probably the fairest result in the end after a ridiculous amount of action.
The UFC naturally decided to book a rematch two years later, but unsurprisingly, they couldn’t recapture the magic and Hunt swiftly finished Silva by knockout. Regardless, though, this fight remains arguably the best fight in heavyweight history, and stands as the UFC’s best in Australia.
