UFC Fight Night 33 took place in Australia as Mark Hunt and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva battle to a majority draw in one of the best main event fights in the UFC this year.
In the opening five minutes of the fight, Silva landed a right hand that dropped Hunt but he was unable to capitalize on the significant strike. Hunt was able to stop multiple takedown attempts of Silva and keep the fight on the feet.
During the second round, Silva attacked the lead leg of Hunt and it forced him to change his stance. Hunt was able to survive the multiple leg kicks and ended up taking the fight to the mat in the third round. Silva would get back to his feet but Hunt would drop him with a right hand.
Hunt would work his top game on Silva until the end of the round and opened up a cut on the head of Silva. In the fourth round, Hunt would take the fight to the ground and Silva would get back to his feet. They began to brawl and Silva landed the more significant strikes. Hunt would survive till the end of the round and the fight moved into the fifth and final round.
As the final round opened, it was obviously that both fighters did not have much left in the gas tank. Hunt had more left in the tank and landed 60 total strikes in the final round. Both guys landed significant strikes before the final bell sounded and the scorecards would decide the winner.
The fight would be declared a majority draw as one judge scored the fight for Hunt (48-47) and the other two judges had it as a draw. After the fight was over, UFC President Dana White tweeted that there was no loser in the fight and the winner tonight was the fans.
“I agree that I have NEVER been so happy with a draw in my life,” White tweeted. “I am happy it was a draw. Winner of that fight is US the fans!!!”
Shogun KO’s Te Huna in the first round
The co-main event of the fight card was a light heavyweight bout as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua snapped a 2 fight losing streak with a first round knockout over James Te Huna.
The fight would come to an end at the 1:03 mark of the opening round as Shogun landed a counter left hand that dropped Te Huna. Shogun would throw one more punch before the referee could step in to stop the fight.
Rua (22-8) last seven wins have come by TKO/KO and this is his first first round victory since 2011 when he defeated Forrest Griffin at UFC 134.
Bader dominates Perosh and wins by unanimous decision
In one of his best performances in the UFC, Ryan Bader dominated Anthony Perosh for three rounds and won by unanimous decision.
Bader dropped Perosh early in the opening round and landed an uppercut as Perosh got back to his feet. After Perosh slipped, Bader capitalized and landed punch after punch on the mat. Perosh would be able to survive the flurry of punches and make it to the second round.
As the second round opened, Bader wasted little time to take the fight to the ground and Perosh would not be able to get off the ground in the round. Bader used ground and pound to hammer out Perosh, and nearly scored a stoppage victory. The one sided fight continued in the third round as Bader took the fight to the mat and it stayed there for the entire round.
The fight would go the distance and the scored were 30-27, 30-27, and 30-26 for Bader (16-4). He has won four of his last six fights and this is his first win by decision since the beginning of 2012.
Palelei wins 10 straight with first round knockout
Soa Palelei has won back to back fights since returning to the UFC as he defeated Pat Barry by knockout in the first round.
As the fight opened, it was clear that the game plan for Palelei to take the fight to the ground. Barry was able to stop the first attempt but Palelei was able to get the fight to the ground on his second attempt. Once the fight hit the ground, Barry began to work on the arm of Palelei for a potential kimura.
Palelei would defend the submission and get the mount position. He would land several punches in the mount position and the referee came in to stop the fight when it was clear that Barry was out.
Palelei (20-3) has won ten in a row and all of the wins have come by TKO/KO. Eight of the victories have come in the first round and his last defeat came in 2010 to Daniel Cormier.
Injury ends Andrews-Hester after the second round
In a battle of Ultimate Fighter 17 alums, Clint Hester defeated Dylan Andrews at the end of the second round after Andrews suffered a dislocated shoulder injury.
Hester was able to land his punches early in the fight before Andrews took the fight to the ground. While on the ground, Andrews went for a guillotine choke and the submission attempt was unsuccessful. Hester would be able to reverse the position and get top position. As the round came to an end, Andrews scored another takedown.
At the start of the second round, Hester was able to score a takedown and had top position. He landed several short elbows and the strikes opened up a cut on Andrews. He would be able to work his way back to his feet, but ate a right uppercut as he got up. They began to exchange strikes and Andrews ended up dislocating his shoulder when Hester blocked a punch.
The cage side doctor would stopped the fight upon the conclusion of the second round and Hester (9-3) has won his first two fights in the UFC.
Correia wins UFC debut by split decision over Kedzie
The opening bout of the UFC Fight Night 33 main card was a women’s bantamweight bout as Bethe Correia defeated Julie Kedzie by split decision.
A majority of the fight would be on the feet with the ladies exchanging strikes. Nearly all of the opening round would be on the feet, but Correia did attempt a takedown at the end of the round. The attempt was unsuccessful and the bout moved into the second round. The second round would go as the first round went, with the exception that Correia had multiple takedown attempts. The attempts would be unsuccessful and Kedzie appeared to become more confident with her strikes.
In the final round, Correia was finally able to get the fight to the ground. However, Kedzie would be able to get back to her feet and they exchanged strikes until the end of the round. Two of the three judges scored the fight for Correia (7-0) and six of her wins have come by decision.
The complete UFC Fight Night 33 results are below.
Main Card: (Fox Sports 1)
Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva declared a majority draw (48-47, 47-47, 47-47)
Mauricio Rua def. James Te Huna via KO (punch) – Round 1, 1:03
Ryan Bader def. Anthony Perosh via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Soa Palelei def. Pat Barry via KO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:09
Clint Hester def. Dylan Andrews via TKO (injury) – Round 2, 5:00
Bethe Correia def. Julie Kedzie via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary Card: (Fox Sports 2)
Takeya Mizugaki def. Nam Phan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-28)
Caio Magalhaes def. Nick Ring via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Justin Scoggins def. Richie Vaculik via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:43
Krzysztof Jotko def. Bruno Santos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Preliminary Card: (UFC.com)
Alex Garcia def. Ben Wall via KO (punch) – Round 1, :43