UFC Fight Night 65 results: Stipe Miocic finally stops Mark Hunt in fifth round

Stipe Miocic

ADELAIDE, Australia – After dodging most of Aussie favorite Mark Hunt’s biggest shots, heavyweight Stipe Miocic took the fight to the ground and delivered a brutal beatdown to the onetime interim title challenger before a fifth-round TKO.

The bout was mercifully halted at the 2:47 mark of the final frame as Hunt continued to take unanswered punishment. Hunt was a bloody and swollen mess when referee John Sharp finally stepped in. Between the fourth and fifth rounds, a cageside doctor ruled the New Zealand native fit to fight after asking him if he honestly felt capable of defending himself against a dangerous opponent.

The result lent a somber note to an otherwise dominant performance for Miocic, who rebounded from a loss to ex-champ Junior Dos Santos this past December at UFC on FOX 15. Miocic stood with Hunt and repeatedly found a home for his right hand before muscling the former K-1 kick boxer to the mat and landing punches and elbows.

“He was telling me he was going me out, so why not?” Miocic, 32, said afterward. “So, take him out of his own game.”

The heavyweight bout was the main event of today’s UFC Fight Night 65 event at Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Miocic, ranked No. 7 in USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie’s MMA heavyweight rankings, went undefeated in his first nine bouts and won his first three UFC bouts before a setback to Miocic. With a 4-1 record in his past five bouts, he was asked whether he’d done enough to earn a title shot.

“We’ll see what the UFC wants to do with me, but right now, I just want to hang out with my family and my friends and just soak it in tonight.”

Hunt, 41, ranked No. 5 in USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie’s MMA heavyweight rankings, has now lost two straight after an interim title bout this past November against Fabricio Werdum ended in a second-round knockout.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 65 results include:

• Stipe Miocic def. Mark Hunt via TKO (punches) – Round 5, 2:47
• Robert Whittaker def. Brad Tavares via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:44
• Sean O’Connell def. Anthony Perosh via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:56
• James Vick def. Jake Matthews via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:53
• Daniel Hooker def. Hatsu Hioki via knockout (head kick, punches) – Round 2, 4:13
• Kyle Noke def. Jonavin Webb via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
• Sam Alvey def. Daniel Kelly via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:49
• Bec Rawlings def. Lisa Ellis via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:09
• Brad Scott def. Dylan Andrews via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 4:54
• Alex Chambers def. Kailin Curran via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 3:15
• Brendan O’Reilly def. Vik Grujic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ben Nguyen def. Alptekin Ozkilic via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:59

For more on UFC Fight Night 65, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Adelaide.)