Thoughts & Shots From UFC Fight Night ‘Hunt vs. Mir’

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I don’t know about you but UFC Fight Night “Hunt vs. Mir” didn’t really have me on pins and needles coming in. I get that Mark Hunt is beloved Down Under -- and for good reason -- but you’ll have to excuse me if a bout from the heavyweight backwater doesn’t get me hyped to watch fights. Luckily for me and for MMA fans the world over, Hunt did what Hunt does, Neil Magny, Daniel Kelly and Jake Matthews authored their own distinctive comeback stories and all was well with the Ultimate Fighting Championship when the curtains came down in Brisbane, Australia.

With that said, it’s strange to me that this watered-down event still did as well as it did at the gate. When compared to UFC Fight Night 33, which included the epic slugfest between Hunt and Antonio Silva in 2013, the gate was nearly halved -- about $1.8 million to about $1 million -- and attendance was down by approximately 2,000 spectators. Still, it did better than I would have thought when you consider the card featured Magny, Frank Mir and Hector Lombard, who was returning from from a yearlong PED suspension.

Bedtime Story

The aforementioned Hunt wasted little time before sending the partisan Australian crowd into a frenzy. He needed just 181 seconds to thump Mir with a fight-ending right hand that left the former champion riddled on the canvas. Hunt walked off the knockout to thunderous applause before referee Marc Goddard could even get there to intervene.

It was a heck of a shot, something we’ve come to expect from Hunt, but let’s be honest: This is not a fighter who should be sniffing a title anytime soon -- or ever again, really. Even at heavyweight, the promotional backwater of the UFC outside of the top two or three fighters in the division, Hunt is little more than a local draw; and that’s more than OK. He’s one of the most likeable fighters under the promotion’s banner, and he always comes to scrap. What’s there not to like? The problem is he’s almost 42 years old and more of a one-trick pony than even I’d like to admit. If he can get to you with that sledgehammer he calls a right hand, you may be in trouble. If not, then he’s the one in trouble.

As for Hunt’s latest victim, Mir is at the end of a long and distinguished career. I’m not sure he’s going to hang them up just yet, as was suggested ad nauseam on the post-fight wrap-up show, but the end has got to be on the horizon, not beyond it. After suffering his sixth loss in eight fights, three by knockout or technical knockout, it’s time for the soon-to-be 37-year-old to at least start considering the option. When I heard Mir talking about getting closer to his title shot in the pre-fight build, I had to rewind the DVR to make sure I heard him right. I know it’s the heavyweight division, but come on, man, that ship had sailed way, way, way out of sight even before this latest loss.

Now I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to make a living, but in the combat sports world, the consequences can be disastrous. I hope Mir takes a complete inventory of his life and career before he makes the decision on whether to come back or not. He was one of the special big men of his era; the problem is that the calendar has flipped so many pages since then that his era is buried deep in the stack.

Survival of the Fittest

So the bookmakers knew what they were talking about again. I really didn’t think Magny had what it took to survive a Lombard offensive. I also didn’t think the offensive was going to last all of about three minutes before the tank threw a track, ran out of gas and expended all of its shells and bullets, either.

It wasn’t a good look for a fighter returning from a yearlong suspension for PED use. Lombard was on fumes long before the end of the first frame, and, after cruising to an opening-round lead, it took everything he and referee Steve Perceval had to make it out of the second period.

Magny, who has shown he’ll fight anyone, anywhere, anytime over the last couple of years, put a hellacious beating on Lombard in the closing minute or so of round two, and Perceval stood by like a man who was hoping to see the first fatality in UFC history. The only thing even close to egregious as Perceval’s shoddy performance was the fact that all three judges scored the round 10-9 for Magny. Seriously, if that isn’t a 10-8, or even a 10-7, I don’t know what to say. Please enlighten me Evan Field, Barry Foley and Kon Papaionannou: What are we all missing? Tell us how that round could conceivably be scored 10-9? We’re all waiting.

It wasn’t a good fight for the Australian regulators. It was a good night for Magny, though. The former Army sergeant weathered the early push from Lombard before taking over when the onetime Bellator MMA champ faded badly. It was the best win of Magny’s young career and could put him line to face even more difficult competition as he strides up the welterweight rankings.

Magny has proven he’s as tough and gritty as they come. He’ll have to prove he’s more skilled and talented if he’s going to climb the widening rungs he will be looking to scale now. The jury is still out in my mind. It’s hard to write off a fighter who answers the call anytime he’s summoned, but eventually, the wear and tear is going to catch up.

Coming off this statement win, one thing is for certain: Magny will get the chance to test himself against the best his division has to offer. We’ll see how he fares.

Sherdog.com Executive Editor Greg Savage can be reached by email or via Twitter @TheSavageTruth.