UFC: Mark Hunt claims first-round TKO

Mark Hunt lands a right-handed punch against Antonio Silva in their UFC heavyweight bout. Photo / Getty

One devastating right hand from Mark Hunt has brought closure to his rivalry with Antonio Silva.

The Super Samoan dropped Bigfoot with a thunderous punch to the head and swarmed him with a couple of shots on the ground after as he collected a first-round TKO victory at UFC 193 in Melbourne today.

Hunt and Silva first met nearly two years ago when their five-round epic in Brisbane at UFC Fight Night 33 was ruled a majority draw. One judge scored the bout in Hunt's favour but two called it even.

Silva (19-8, 1 NC) later tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, which took the shine off the spectacle.

The pair mixed wins and losses after their Brisbane beat-down but this victory for Hunt has put him back on track to move up the rankings.

The eighth-ranked Hunt trained for this fight in Thailand as opposed to his usual Auckland base.

"It was pretty satisfying," Hunt said after the bout. "I'm fit as a fiddle. I trained really hard at AKA Thailand."

Hunt (11-10-1) came in to the week with few concerns around his weight cut, which is often a thorn in his side; but he looked trim - by his standards - as he entered the cage.
He has unrelenting power in both fists and Bigfoot, who has lost three of his past four bouts, never troubled him.

The 41-year-old Hunt took minimal damage during the fight and it will be fascinating to see who he is paired with next.

Most of the heavyweight division have dance partners sorted for the coming months but a fit and motivated Hunt should return to the octagon in early 2016.

Meanwhile, Auckland-born Australian Robert Whittaker (15-4) continued his rise up the UFC's middleweight pecking order with a unanimous decision victory over Uriah Hall (12-6).

Whittaker, who is based in Sydney, mixed his dangerous striking effectively against Hall who was having his fifth UFC bout of 2015.

The 24-year-old Whittaker, who was ranked 14th coming in to the contest while Hall was at No 10, said he had a strong training camp in the lead up to the bout.

"I've surrounded myself with a great group of people," Whittaker said.

UFC 193 was headlined by women's bantamweight world champion Ronda Rousey (12-0) who was to defend her title against Holly Holm (9-0).

The event, held at Etihad Stadium, marked the UFC's first appearance in Melbourne.