The UFC is back in Sydney for the first time since 2017, hosting its first pay-per-view since 2011 in the harbour city.
Headlined by New Zealand’s own Israel Adesanya facing off against Sean Strickland, the card is stacked with Australia and New Zealand’s best fighters.
Pulling off the ultimate underdgo story, Sean Strickland has pulled off one of the all-time greatest upsets in UFC history with a dominant victory over Israel Adesanya to secure the middleweight title.
Catch up on all the action below...
Sean Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) def Israel Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) unanimous decision
Sean Strickland has pulled off one of the all-time greatest upsets in UFC history with a dominant victory over Israel Adesanya to secure the middleweight title.
Starting off the fight testing each other’s patience, neither fighter looked ready to get going until the final two minutes.
With no significant strikes coming close to landing in the first three minutes, Strickland began to test Adesanya and forced him back against the cage, where he would spend the majority of the fight.
Strickland dropped Adesanya late in the first round and began to inflict serious damage on the follow-up, putting the champion close to a stunning first round loss.
Hanging on for his title, Adesanya held on and survived the final moments of the round but was in for a much tougher fight than expected.
The second and third rounds were nearly identical with both fighters faking shots and testing each other’s range for the first three minutes before Strickland turned up the intensity to finish the round.
Although he didn’t have the same success, he saw in the first, Strickland was comfortably ahead three rounds to nothing as a disinterested Adesanya played passenger.
Strickland dropped the champion once more in the fourth round but was not able to follow up to danger Adesanya’s title.
Despite this Strickland continued to dominate and held on for the shocking unanimous decision win.
Manel Kape (18-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) def Felipe dos Santos (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) via unanimous decision
The third last fight saw the undefeated debutant going up against the most despised fighter on the card.
Manel Kape’s antics throughout the week had the Australian crowd fired up as he was rained down by boos on his way to the octagon.
Kape showed his experience from the get-go, letting loose with a flurry of wild combinations that left dos Santos rocked multiple times throughout the round.
The Portuguese native continued to punish the debutant but was forced to hold back at points throughout the opening round as dos Santos unleashed some lethal counters.
Kape continued to grow in confidence as the fight progressed, picking apart dos Santos in the second round and coming close to a finish on two occasions.
The fearless dos Santos battled through the tough second round, surviving Kape’s elite striking and forcing a third and final round.
With the fight slipping away, dos Santos levelled out the playing field in the third round, forcing Kape onto the backfoot and wobbling his opponent on several occasions.
Kape managed to fight back with a handful of counters of his own and after winning the first the two rounds, the Portuguese native had done enough to secure the win on the judge’s scorecard.
Alexander Volkov (36-10 MMA, 10-4 UFC) def Tai Tuivasa (15-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) via Ezekiel choke
Starting off the fight with some quality low kicks to the gigantic legs of Alexander Volkov, Tai Tuivasa managed to keep the distance from his much taller opponent.
Looking to conserve his energy for what would be a long and brutal fight, Tuivasa picked his shots but was caught out a few times by the long reach of Volkov.
The Russian ended the first round with Tuivasa against the cage, unloading everything he had in an attempt to end the round that was ultimately cut short by the siren.
A visibly frustrated Tuivasa looked to make up for his poor showing in the first round and came out with a point to prove in the second.
Tuivasa, with the crowd behind him, began to put Volkov on the back foot but the reach advantage once again came into play for the Russian.
After being caught going forward twice, Tuivasa hit the canvas and was on the backend of a ruthless ground-and-pound game from Volkov.
The Russian continued to inflict punishment on the ground before locking in an Ezekiel choke to finish the fight and leave the Sydney crowd silenced.
Tyson Pedro (9-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) def Anton Turkalj (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) via KO
Coming out to a thunderous roar from the largely Western Sydney crowd, Tyson Pedro had the weight of 22,000 fans on his shoulders as he opened the main card.
Happily playing the role of villain, Anton Turkalj looked to finish the fight before it had started but the wiser Pedro defended his early attacks.
Pedro patiently waited until the two minute mark of the fight to unload, countering Turkalj’s strikes with a combination of hooks and jabs which eventually caught the Swedish native.
After connecting with a third straight shot, Pedro knocked Turkalj to the ground before one final blow sealed the win for the Western Sydney local.
Justin Tafa (6-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) def Austen Lane (12-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) via TKO
After the previous fight between the two ended unceremoniously due to an eye poke, Austin Lane and Justin Tafa had to wait nearly four months to face off again.
Much like the first fight, Lane started off the fight with an accidental eye poke on Tafa, leaving the fans in disbelief at the potential of a very early stoppage.
Tafa battled through the poke and looked to extract revenge on his American counterpart.
After dodging a dangerous high kick, Tafa went to work, using his famous knockout power to land a lethal left hook.
The shot dropped Lane and left him on the edge before one final blow from Tafa sealed a sensational first round knockout.
Prelims
Nasrat Haqparast (14-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) def Landon Quinones (7-1-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) via unanimous decision
In a quick and explosive start to the fight, both men threw it all out at each other in search of a first round finish.
After plenty of brutal blows, there was nothing to separate them heading into the second round
Starting off the second round on the front foot, Quinones was quickly brought back down to earth by his experienced opponent.
A flurry of lethal punches left the UFC debutant stunned as Haqparast could smell victory.
Spurred on by a standing ovation from the audience, Quinones hung on and survived for the third round.
In a rather timid start to the third round, the afteraftereffects effects of a brutal fight began to show.
Both fighters left it until the final 60 seconds before engaging in what can only be described as an all oall-outut brawl.
Haqparast went on to win the fight via unanimous decision - 30-27 on the judge's scorecard
Jamie Mullarkey (16-6 MMA, 4-4 UFC def John Makdessi (18-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) via unanimous decison
Getting the loudest pop of the night, at that point, Central Coast’s own Jamie Malarkey looked confident in the opening exchanges.
Despite neither fighter landing a significant strike in the first round, the hometown hero was the likely winner heading into the second.
In what was another very calm round in the second, Mullarkey came off worse for wear.
The Australian fell to the ground after being tripped before a stunning straight jab levelled him momentarily.
With the fight up for grabs in the third round both men lifted the intensity from the opening stages.
A flying knee from Mullarkey to kick off the third round set the tone for a wild final five minutes.
Spurred on by his home crowd, Mullarkey picked his shots and slowly etched his way to victory.
Another wild final sequence saw both fighters throwing everything at each other but the win was all but sealed for the Aussie.
Doing enough on the judge’s scorecard, Mullarkey scored a 29-28 win.
Chepe Mariscal (14-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) def Jack Jenkins (12-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vis TKO
The Aussie was cautioned at the start of the fight for an apparent low blow, causing a minor stoppage in the fight.
With both fighters feeling each other out for the majority of the first round, Jenkins aggressively looked to find an edge that wouldn’t come until the final minute of the round.
Jenkins' now famous low calf kicks became a factor in the backend of the first round and would’ve have given him a favourable edge on the judge’s scorecard.
The Australian struggled to get going in the second round as the Mariscal used his elite Thai clinch skills to tame him.
Jenkins was the victim of a brutal takedown that saw him land on his head and shoulder, rendering him defenceless due to a likely dislocated elbow.
The brutal finish silenced the Sydney crowd and left many of the fans in a state of shock after the violent finish.
Carlos Ulberg (8-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) def Da Woon Jung (15-4-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) via rear naked choke
Coming into this fight with first round finishes in his last three fights, Carlos Ulberg was heavily favoured to inflict the same punishment on Da Woon Jung.
After an unusually quiet start to the fight, Ulberg came within seconds of securing a first round knockout after catching Jung with a double jab which dropped the South Korean.
Following up with a flurry of punches, Ulberg couldn’t break through Jung’s tough defence on the ground and was forced to go into a second round.
Jung looked to use his wrestling skills in the second round to prevent standing and banging with Ulberg but was unsuccessful for most of the round.
The second round didn’t go as planned for either fighter, resulting in a lacklustre five minutes for the Sydney crowd.
With the fight destined to go to the judge’s scorecard, Ulberg turned the tide of the fight in the final two minutes, unloading everything he had on the South Korean.
Ulberg found success in the ground and pound but was unable to force a stoppage from referee Herb Dean.
The Kiwi ultimately found his way to victory with a rear naked choke after Jung left his neck defenceless protecting his head from the flurry of shots.