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The Fight Night Brisbane card was headlined by the legends, Mark Hunt and Frank MirThe UFC’s modus operandi of stacking the big pay-per-view cards with mouth-watering fights that are extensively marketed, but allowing the Fight Night events to provide the cool-off in between all the razzmatazz has worked soundly for them thus far.But just because the Fight Night cards may not carry as much glitz and glamour as the PPV cards, don’t mistake that for a lack of entertainment. And the Brisbane card that saw the company revisit Australian shores for the first time after Holm’s mega upset of Ronda Rousey at UFC 193, provided entertainment aplenty.The event featured comebacks, rising stars, timeless veterans, perennial underdogs, the usual quota of questionable calls from the referee and even an instance of atrocious scoring from the judges.Not only that but the fight fans that tuned in were treated to a bevy of absorbing fights and even the vintage ‘gansgta’ one punch walk-off routine from Mark Hunt to cap off the night’s proceedings.On that note, here are 5 talking points thrown up by the Fight Night Brisbane card that are worth debating about.
#5 The judging quandry
Unheralded names though they may be, hometown girl Rowdy Bec Rawlings and South Korea’s Seo Hee Ham set the tone for the fights to follow on the night by putting on an engaging women’s Bantamweight encounter to inaugurate the main card.
The fight itself played out predominantly on the feet, where the intriguing battle between Rawling’s reach advantage and Hee Ham’s efficient counter striking took centre stage, with the occasional scramble on the ground providing the perfect foil to the stand-up.
But, as is becoming a worrisome trend off late, it was the ridiculous scoring of the encounter by the judges that instead took precedence over the fight itself.
Although two of the judges scored it as 30-27 to Bec Rawlings with the other one also giving the Australian the nod, the fight was far closer than what the judges had made of it with the South Korean reserving every right to feel aggrieved at the outcome.
Not only was the fight definitely not a wash-out in favour of Rawlings, but a salient case could be constructed as to why it was Hee Ham who deserved to have her hand raised at the end of it.
But as the oft-repeated MMA mantra chimes, “Never leave it in the hands of the judges.”
#4 An eternal underdog
Brushing aside all the commercial elements that have attached themselves to MMA in the past couple of years especially, the heart and soul of the sport is contained in every fighter’s pursuit to test him or herself at the highest level against elite opposition.
Whether the fight captures the imagination of the masses, results in chart bursting sales in terms of pay-per-view buys or even has any bearing on the Championship picture are all secondary considerations; the bare bones of it all boils down to the spirit of competition.
And Australian veteran Daniel Kelly embodies exactly that.
Nearing 40 years old and still not having broken into the Middleweight rankings, it comes as little surprise that the former Australian Olympic Judoka may have flown under most radars thus far.
Factor in the ungainly stand-up game that betrays the relative lack of exposure to the realm of striking, and you have a fighter that not only seems like an underdog, but also looks the part.
Unremarkable in every sense, and yet, after pulling a rabbit out of the hat against Brazilian Antonio Carlos Junior, he finds himself in the unfamiliar headlights of the media for once.
It is highly probable that Daniel Kelly shall not turn the sport on its head like McGregor did, but for now, the self-professed perennial underdog is happy to be overlooked by opponents and fans alike.
And in the truest sense of an underdog, he probably will be.
#3 A \'Magny\'ficent performance
The Welterweight division may already boast one of the most talent-stacked rosters in the UFC, but that hasn’t prevented yet another fighter from rising up through the ranks as a potential contender to the coveted crown of Robbie Lawler.
On the back of defeating Hector Lombard in what is an astounding tenth victory in eleven fights, Neil Magny’s star has truly risen into prominence after promising as much against other top talents such as Kevin Gastelum and Erick Silva.
The first round did not disappoint as Lombard’s patented power came to the fore, staggering Magny and forcing him into survival mode.
But not only did he display tremendous heart to survive Lombard’s early flurry, he also managed to regroup sufficiently to take full advantage of his opponent’s suspect gas tank in the following rounds, eventually recording his name as the first man to stop Hector Lombard.
Having fought more than 10 times in the last 2 years, Neil Magny has established himself as one of the more familiar faces in the UFC, and with performances like that, has done his dreams of possibly fighting for the Title by the year’s end no harm whatsoever.
#2 When is it too late?
Although Neil Magny stole the show at Brisbane with a true fighter’s performance, the headlines would probably be hogged by the referee, Steve Perceval, for all the wrong reasons.
Any fighter would contend that a referee’s job in the Octagon is primarily focussed on preventing the fighters from taking unnecessary damage and ensuring that the fight is stopped once it becomes clear that a fighter cannot intelligently defend himself.
As such, Steve Perceval finds himself in the eye of the latest media storm surrounding questionable referee calls as the fight between Neil Magny and Hector Lombard could have been stopped at least twice before it actually was.
Once in the first round when Lombard had knocked Magny to the ground and was swarming him, and especially in the second round – by which time the tables had turned – and Magny was teeing off on a visibly spent Lombard.
To put things into perspective, Magny punished Lombard with 100 significant strikes on the ground, thereby setting a new UFC record, and a total of 142 unanswered strikes in the second round, as Steve Perceval stood by and watched.
When he did stop the fight early in the third, it was already a belated exercise given that at 38 years old, Hector Lombard may have absorbed at least a 100 unnecessary strikes to the head that may curtail what is left of his career.
As ire towards the referee pours in from all quarters, and quite rightly so, it only further highlights one of the pertinent problems with MMA today of the standardization of referees in the best interests of the fighters.
#1 Back in the Hunt?
After a one-sided beatdown suffered at the hands of Stipe Miocic, Mark Hunt seems to have embarked upon a career resurgence of sorts with back to back first round knockouts of Bigfoot Silva and now, Frank Mir.
Being the submission ace that he is, it was understandable that Frank Mir was looking to take the fight to the ground against the Samoan, but both his takedown attempts in the first round were stonewalled by excellent defence from Hunt.
And once the fight was established on their feet, it was only a matter of time before Mark Hunt delivered.
And deliver he did.
In vintage Mark Hunt fashion, the Super Samoan felled Mir with a right hand that clipped him behind the ear and walked off, nonchalantly. Ever the gentleman, he didn’t even see the need to follow up with strikes on the ground as he knew his punch had found the mark.
When quizzed about why he didn’t follow up with finishing strikes in the post-fight press conference, he simply claimed that “He(Mir) was out of it”.
In a day and age where bad mouthing your opponent has become a staple under the broad umbrella of “selling the fight”, the way Mark Hunt goes about his business provides a nostalgic throwback to the days where respect took centre stage in martial arts.
Now whether he makes another run at the Title after this victory remains to be seen. But it would certainly seem that the Super Samoan is back in the hunt again.
