Adelaide, Australia – The UFC® will make its first visit to South Australia’s capital as Adelaide hosts UFC FIGHT NIGHT™: MIOCIC vs. HUNT at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Sunday, May 10. A five-round main event will feature Australia’s top ranked UFC® competitor and knockout artist Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt, who meets speedster striker Stipe Miocic in a bout with huge implications for the heavyweight division.Fighting out of Sydney, Australia by way of South Auckland, New Zealand, Hunt (10-9-1) is a feared veteran of the combat sports world – a former K1 World Grand Prix Champion and opponent to a who’s-who of MMA elite. The 40-year old, fifth-ranked heavyweight has stunned Australian crowds with two career-defining performances. A ‘Knockout of the Night’ defeat of Chris Tuchscherer re-ignited Hunt’s MMA career at UFC® 127 in Sydney, February 2011, a performance only eclipsed by an incredible draw against Antonio Silva at UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: HUNT vs. BIGFOOT in Brisbane, December 2013 earning ‘Fight of the Night’ and widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight MMA contest of all time.
A breakthrough 2014 in the Octagon® saw Hunt land the knockout of the year against Roy Nelson at UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: HUNT vs. NELSON and come within breathtaking reach of the UFC® interim heavyweight title at UFC® 180, where he slotted in as a last minute replacement to the injured heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. Undeterred, Hunt will take on a higher ranked opponent in his first fight of 2015 to re-focus his sights on the UFC® championship belt.
Miocic (12-2, fighting out of Euclid, Ohio, USA) is coming off a hard-fought five-round ‘Fight of the Night’ slugfest against former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos at UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: DOS SANTOS vs. MIOCIC in December 2014. Despite not having his hand raised, Miocic impressed with his performance, demonstrating to the world he belongs among the division’s elite. The 32-year-old American is currently ranked No.4 in the UFC® division and also owns a ‘Fight of the Night’ award against Stefan Struve, a ‘Performance of the Night’ honour against Fabio Maldonado and a ‘Knockout of the Night’ in the first round against Philip De Fries.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT™: MIOCIC vs. HUNT will also feature a stacked fight card of elite Australian and international mixed martial artists:
• Coming off a ‘Fight of the Night’ performance and successful middleweight debut, The Ultimate Fighter® Smashes winner Robert Whittaker (13-4, fighting out of Sydney, Australia) steps up against No.15 ranked Brad Tavares (13-4, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) as the co-main event
• UFC veteran and Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Anthony ‘The Hippo’ Perosh (15-8, fighting out of Sydney, Australia) meets power puncher Sean ‘The Real OC’ O’Connell (16-6, fighting out of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA) in a light heavyweight tilt
• Two undefeated lightweights will put their unblemished records on the line with Australian rising star Jake ‘The Celtic Kid’ Matthews (9-0, fighting out of Melbourne, Australia) paired against bruising boxer James ‘The Texecutioner’ Vick (7-0, fighting out of Fort Worth, Texas, USA)
• No.15 ranked strawweight brash brawler ‘Rowdy’ Bec Rawlings (5-4, fighting out of Brisbane, Australia) faces No.14 ranked Seohee Ham (15-6, fighting out of Busan, South Korea)
• New Zealand native Dylan ‘The Villain’ Andrews (18-7, fighting out of the Gold Coast, Australia) takes on British brawler Bradley ‘Bear’ Scott (10-3, fighting out of Melksham, England) at middleweight
• Strawweight speedster Alex ‘Astro Girl’ Chambers (4-2, fighting out of Sydney, Australia) will meet hot prospect Kailin Curran (3-1, fighting out of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, USA)
• The Ultimate Fighter® Nations: Canada vs. Australia Australian teammates Brendan ‘The Badger’ O’Reilly (5-1-1, fighting out of Brisbane, Australia) and Vik ‘The Spartan’ Grujic (7-5, fighting out of Melbourne, Australia) face off in a welterweight war on home soilSince 2010, the UFC has hosted six live events in Australia with each experiencing tremendous success. Collectively, the six events have seen more than 75,000 fans in attendance and millions worldwide watching on Pay-Per-View and broadcast television. The three host cities to date – Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane – have had a cumulative gross gate of more than $12 million and millions more in economic impact.
Additional bouts and ticket information for UFC FIGHT NIGHT™: MIOCIC vs. HUNT will be announced in the coming weeks.
For more information or current fight news, visit au.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
