Elsewhere on the card though, Mark Hunt got his hand raised against his old rival Antonio Bigfoot Silva, who had previously failed a drug test after their first epic fight in 2013.
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Since their 2013 war, neither man has done particularly well, but Hunt has managed to largely keep it together. Still, Hunt came into this bout having lost his last two, so this was definitely an important fight for him.
Hunt recorded the first knockout finish of the night, after two decisions won by Jared Rosholt and Robert Whittaker.
Instead, he was finished violently and efficiently. Hunt’s best fortunes in the early going of the fight came from moving a little quicker towards Silva and throwing an uppercut. This will be an entertaining and bloody fight, but when rocks (Hunt’s fists) meet a glass house (Bigfoot’s jaw), the result is a foregone conclusion.
Silva caught Hunt with a right hand of his own but it didn’t deter the heavy-hitting 41-year-old, connecting with a lethal blow shortly after and lading two more before the referee stopped the fight.
This was a pretty flawless performance by Hunt.
Mark Hunt’s game plan is to “knock the bloke out”, in most of his fights. Once Hunt found his opening, he exploited it ruthlessly and knocked his opponent out.
“I had a good nutritionist [this camp] – thanks very much for that, and I’m just ready to go – no weight cut this time”, Hunt said “I’m ready to go five, 10 rounds, whatever you need”. Hunt shrugs it off and throws an inside leg kick.
“The Super Samoan” didn’t hang around in Australia, getting the job done in just one round.
Once again, it seems like “Bigfoot’s” career as a contender is over. Unlike the first fight, which saw a combined 200 strikes landed, Saturday’s bout did not feature many back-and-forth exchanges.
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But Hunt, who looks leaner than ever, is riding on his confidence despite the setbacks in the past year, adding that the match with Silva would probably end with a knockout. I’m ready. The Miocic fight doesn’t sit well with me. While kicking from the outside – low kicks were a huge part of his success in the first fight – Silva stayed in position to make Hunt miss and then look to counter.
