Penick's Take
UFC FIGHT NIGHT 65 PREVIEW: Penick's main card quick thoughts and fight picks for "Hunt vs. Miocic" event
May 9, 2015 - 10:40:23 AM UFC FIGHT NIGHT 65 PREVIEW: Penick's main card quick thoughts and fight picks for "Hunt vs. Miocic" event

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC Fight Night 65 comes to UFC Fight Pass tonight due to the time difference with Australia, as the event is happening Sunday morning local time in Adelaide. The card isn't meant to be a massive draw, and it's clear from how it was put together that it's one of the weaker events of the year in terms of relevance and star power. Heavyweights Mark Hunt and Stipe Miocic will try to remain relevant names in the UFC Heavyweight Title picture in their main event matchup, but that's the extent of the top end talent on the card. Here's what's on tap for the four-fight main card:

Mark Hunt vs. Stipe Miocic (Heavyweight): We know mostly what to expect out of this fight. Miocic wants to out-box Hunt while avoiding the heavy power strikes, utilizing some of his wrestling to as well to dictate the pace of the fight. Hunt wants to take his head off.

That's a simplistic characterization, but hardly inaccurate. Hunt wants to find Miocic's chin and find out if it's really as good as it seems. Sure, Miocic was stopped by Stefan Struve in 2012, but he's coming off a fight where he went five rounds with the former UFC Heavyweight Champion in Junior dos Santos. He can take a punch.

The factor to consider in this fight is their cardio and how well Miocic deals with the travel. Hunt's getting to fight close to home, and though both have shown differing levels of cardio in their UFC bouts thus far, they each have gone five rounds in grueling bouts and kept fighting. This is going to be a mostly competitive fight, and it's probably going to come down to what kind of approach Miocic takes.

If he gets into a firefight with Hunt, he's definitely capable of stopping the fight himself. But as we've seen time and again, Hunt needs just one punch to find himself walking off with his hand raised. If Miocic tries to mix things up a bit more, make it a little ugly on the cage, and can wear Hunt down, he may be able to pick him apart late. I'm expecting a solid fight here, and there's a path to victory for each of them. There's a slight home edge for Hunt, and while I wholly believe Miocic can win this fight as well, the gut says Hunt gets it done. Hunt via TKO in the second round.


Brad Tavares vs. Robert Whittaker (Middleweight): Whittaker looked a lot stronger in his last fight than I expected. He was never a small welterweight, but it wasn't until his middleweight debut against Clint Hester that you could see how well the 24-year-old New Zealander fit in there. He had a fantastic performance to score the second round TKO, and he's going to try to keep that going against another TUF alum.

Tavares is an extremely durable fighter. He's not great in any one area, but he's serviceable to good in everything in the cage. It makes him hard to put away, but it also means that his wins come in less than spectacular fashion. He's got decent striking, a decent clinch game, and his ground game has improved, but it doesn't seem like he's got that next level to really make an impression in the division. He'll beat some good fighters, as he did Nate Marquardt in his last outing, but I don't know that we'll be seeing him make a run anytime soon.

Whittaker's a talented striker, and though he's not in the elite of the division, I think he'll have an edge there. He'll have to keep his cardio up and avoid getting stuck in the clinch game, but if he can keep distance and work his strikes, I think he'll have the advantage. It's hard to stop Tavares, but either way I think Whittaker wins enough of the three round fight to take the nod. Whittaker by decision.


Anthony Perosh vs. Sean O'Connell (Light Heavyweight): It's feast or famine for the 42-year-old Aussie. He's as capable of demolishing someone in the first round as he is of getting beat up himself, and it's almost always about the specific matchup. O'Connell's the type who could certainly rush Perosh and find a stoppage in this fight, but he may also play right into what Perosh wants him to do here.

O'Connell's not someone like Ryan Bader who ground out Perosh for three rounds, and outside of a flash knockout against Ryan Jimmo, Perosh has been mostly solid inside the Octagon. O'Connell's got a lot of stoppages to his credit, including over Matt Van Buren in his last fight, but Perosh is better than Van Buren, and I think O'Connell might be in trouble in this one. If Perosh can hurt him on the feet or just get him down to the ground, he's got a significant submission edge, and I think that comes into play. Perosh by submission in the first round.


Jake Matthews vs. James Vick (Lightweight): It's a battle of unbeaten lightweights, as 20-year-old Australian Matthews puts his 8-0 mark against 28-year-old Vick's 7-0 mark. Matthews has looked quite good in his two UFC bouts thus far, submitting both Dashon Johnson and Vagner Rocha. He's only gone to a decision once in his career, and he's highly capable of finishing whomever he's up against.

The same can't be said for Vick. He's quite talented, and his submission over Ramsey Nijem is certainly a stand out performance from him, but overall he's had to battle through some closer fights in the UFC. He has been stopped before, though it was in an exhibition during the Ultimate Fighter's live season. Still, that's a spot to consider.

Matthews is the young prospect to watch here, and if he can get past Vick it will be a great sign of where he's at. It's a tough task, and it's certainly not going to be an easy fight for him. That said, I think he may be up to the challenge in front of some home country fans. Matthews by decision.