Tuivasa loses brutal UFC heavyweight bout
TAI Tuivasa’s unbeaten MMA record has been shattered in a second-round stoppage loss to former world champion Junior Dos Santos on a grim day for Australia at the UFC show in Adelaide.
Mark Hunt, in his final UFC fight, Tyson Pedro and Jake Matthews also suffered losses yesterday.
A win in his UFC debut for highly touted Victorian Jim Crute was the only bright spot on the main card as Brazilian veterans Dos Santos and Mauricio Rua stole the show.
Tuivasa, who was 10-0 going into Sunday’s fight and 3-0 in the UFC, finished the first round well and also seemed to be handling the striking power of 34-year-old Dos Santos.
The Sydneysider also started the second round well before bring floored with a big right hand. Dos Santos then pounded the Australian with a number of blows before the referee intervened.
In the co-main event, Pedro suffered a third-round stoppage loss to Brazil’s former light heavyweight world champion Rua.
The Sydneysider got the better of the first round but Rua dominated the second and finished the job in the third.
Light heavyweight Crute scored a submission win over Scotland’s Paul Craig with nine seconds of the threeround bout left.
Matthews’ three-fight winning streak at welterweight level came to an end in the third round against American Rocco Martin.