UFC Fight Night 33 results: ‘Shogun’ Rua drops James Te Huna with vicious KO

BRISBANE, Australia – Blink at the wrong moment, and you could easily miss the punch that did James Te Huna in.

A short left hook from Mauricio Rua caught the Aussie coming in and sent him tumbling down, unconscious before he hit the mat. By the time referee John Sharp stepped in to stop it 63 seconds into the first round, the matter had clearly been settled.

The light heavyweight bout was the co-main event of today’s UFC Fight Night 33 event at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Australia. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 2 and MMAjunkie.

The bout seemed to be still in its feeling-out stage when Rua’s left hand ended it. After exchanged a few range-finding kicks and jabs with “Shogun,” Te Huna came lunging in, meeting Rua’s left hook with his jaw before he even had a chance to start his own attack.

“I knew he could come aggressive, trying to strike, but I also expected him to come clinching and trying to wrestle me, so I was timing his engagements,” Rua said after the fight, via an interpreter. “When he was moving forward I was timing his entrances so I could connect. I was happy that ended the bout.”

For Rua (22-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC), the win stops a two-fight losing skid, and likely puts some distance between him and calls for his retirement. Te Huna (16-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) has now lost two straight in the UFC.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 33 results include:

• Mauricio Rua def. James Te Huna via knockout (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 knockout (punches) – 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)
• 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 (punches) – Round 1, 4:43
• Krzysztof Jotko def. Bruno Santos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Alex Garcia def. Ben Wall via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:43

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 33, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on-site in Brisbane.