UFC: Kiwi fighters shape up as good bets for Brisbane

Mark Hunt.

UFC Fight Night 33 takes place in Brisbane today. We run the rule over the three New Zealand fighters on the main card.

Heavyweight: Mark 'Super Samoan' Hunt v Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva

Tale of the tape: Silva is ranked in the top five in the world while Hunt slipped out of the UFC's top 10 following his loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 160 in May. Silva lost to heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez on the same card in Las Vegas so both fighters are desperate to keep their names in lights.

A win for Hunt would put him in the conversation for a title shot in a shallow heavyweight division, while a Bigfoot victory may see him edge towards a rematch with Velasquez.

We say: Hunt's had a better lead-up to this fight than his previous bout against dos Santos. With a clear head and the expert work of hands man Lollo Heimuli, we are tipping Hunt by TKO in the main event.

Light Heavyweight: James Te Huna v Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua

Tale of the tape: Te Huna has never backed down from a tough fight and his latest bout here promises to be another tricky challenge against the UFC's former light heavyweight champion.

Both guys are prominent strikers, they're both 32 years old and they're both coming in to this fight on the back of a loss.

We say: Rua has been around the block and while he's flirting with the idea of dropping to middleweight he should have too much for Te Huna, who is still susceptible to submissions.

Both of these guys are likely to want to stand and trade but we have Rua by decision.

Middleweight: Dylan 'The Villain' Andrews v Clint Hester

Tale of the tape: This pair were both cast members on UFC television show The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs Team Sonnen earlier this year and are yet to drop a fight since the series wrapped up.

Andrews is coming off a tough knockout victory over Papy Abedi in August where he overcame the pain of a dislocated shoulder, while Hester is a former professional boxer who is 8-3 in his MMA career across all promotions.

We say: Andrews is the better all-round fighter and given he is based on the Gold Coast will enjoy a wave of hometown support in Brisbane, which should see him triumph by decision.

Rest of the main card

Light Heavyweight - Ryan Bader v Anthony Perosh

Heavyweight - Pat Barry v Soa Palelei

Women's Bantamweight - Julie Kedzie v Bethe Correia

Preliminary card (televised)

Bantamweight - Takeya Mizugaki v Nam Phan

Middleweight - Nick Ring v Caio Magalhaes

Flyweight - Richie Vaculik v Justin Scoggins

Middleweight - Bruno Santos v Krzysztof Jotko

Preliminary card (Online)

Welterweight - Ben Wall v Alex Garcia

APNZ