UFC fight night, Kondit vs. Kampmann II at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianopolis, Indiana, was a mixed bag for three Australian fighters, Dylan Andrews, Robert Whittaker and Ben Alloway, looking to take the next step in their careers.
The stand out for the Australian contingent was Andrews, who mounted a last-ditch effort to finish Swedish judoka Papy Abedi in the third round.
Abedi, returning to the middleweight division after an unimpressive 1-2 stint at welterweight, was the dominant of the two fighters in the earlier rounds, using his excellent grappling and judo skills to control Andrews.
Abedi utilised a judo throw in the first round and Andrews appeared to injure his left shoulder, robbing him of one of his most powerful weapons.
Leading into the third round Abedi was clearly in front, but the heavily muscled fighter was showing obvious signs of fatigue.
Andrews threw a straight right that rocked Abedi, following up with a uppercut to put Abedi face-first on the canvas before his swarming punches forced the referee to call off the fight.
Highly rated Australian welterweight Robert Whittaker suffered his first defeat in the UFC, going down in a split decision to Court McGee.
The match up that put two former Ultimate Fighter winners against each other was a contrast in styles.McGee, a wrestler who likes to grind out opponents, couldn't take Whittaker down but pushed the pace and pressured the 22-year-old Australian with an almost constant stream of punches.
Whittaker, who has been training at welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre's Tri-Star gym in Montreal, didn't throw the volume of McGee but did significant more damage marking up McGee's face, particularly in the second round when he began utilising his elbows from range.
Whittaker clearly won the first round and McGee had the third, however the two judges scored the bout 30-27 for McGee and 30-27 for Whittaker, with the final judge awarding it to McGee with a 29-28 score line that was a more accurate reflection of the fight.
In a preliminary fight, fellow The Ultimate Fighter alumni Benny Alloway found himself on the receiving end of a D'Arce Choke from Zak Cummings in the American's debut at welterweight.
Cummings bullied Alloway against the cage before scoring a takedown and sinking in the choke, with Alloway offering little in the way of offence against the talented wrestler.
Cummings won $50,000 and submission of the night for his troubles.
In the co-main, Brazillian Rafael Dos Anjos showcased a striking game that has improved ten-fold since his debut, clearly defeating perennial top-10 Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in a unanimous decision.
The main event saw the rematch of Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann, with Kampmann hoping to replicate his 2009 split-decision victory over Condit in Condit's UFC debut.
However Condit, who has lost his last two fights to champion Georges St-Pierre and top contender Johnny Hendricks, was not going to be defeated again.
Kampmann dominated the first round with his wrestling however Condit's laser-accurate, technical punching continually wore Kampmann down.
Condit poured on the heat in the third, taking apart Kampmann, who was lucky to survive the round.
The fourth was more of the same, with Condit picking apart the Dutch top 10 before a straight right and a vicious body-shot put Kampmann to the ground, with referee Herb Dean mercifully stepping in to end the fight.
The stand out for the Australian contingent was Andrews, who mounted a last-ditch effort to finish Swedish judoka Papy Abedi in the third round.
Abedi, returning to the middleweight division after an unimpressive 1-2 stint at welterweight, was the dominant of the two fighters in the earlier rounds, using his excellent grappling and judo skills to control Andrews.
Abedi utilised a judo throw in the first round and Andrews appeared to injure his left shoulder, robbing him of one of his most powerful weapons.
Leading into the third round Abedi was clearly in front, but the heavily muscled fighter was showing obvious signs of fatigue.
Andrews threw a straight right that rocked Abedi, following up with a uppercut to put Abedi face-first on the canvas before his swarming punches forced the referee to call off the fight.
Highly rated Australian welterweight Robert Whittaker suffered his first defeat in the UFC, going down in a split decision to Court McGee.
The match up that put two former Ultimate Fighter winners against each other was a contrast in styles.McGee, a wrestler who likes to grind out opponents, couldn't take Whittaker down but pushed the pace and pressured the 22-year-old Australian with an almost constant stream of punches.
Whittaker, who has been training at welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre's Tri-Star gym in Montreal, didn't throw the volume of McGee but did significant more damage marking up McGee's face, particularly in the second round when he began utilising his elbows from range.
Whittaker clearly won the first round and McGee had the third, however the two judges scored the bout 30-27 for McGee and 30-27 for Whittaker, with the final judge awarding it to McGee with a 29-28 score line that was a more accurate reflection of the fight.
In a preliminary fight, fellow The Ultimate Fighter alumni Benny Alloway found himself on the receiving end of a D'Arce Choke from Zak Cummings in the American's debut at welterweight.
Cummings bullied Alloway against the cage before scoring a takedown and sinking in the choke, with Alloway offering little in the way of offence against the talented wrestler.
Cummings won $50,000 and submission of the night for his troubles.
In the co-main, Brazillian Rafael Dos Anjos showcased a striking game that has improved ten-fold since his debut, clearly defeating perennial top-10 Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in a unanimous decision.
The main event saw the rematch of Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann, with Kampmann hoping to replicate his 2009 split-decision victory over Condit in Condit's UFC debut.
However Condit, who has lost his last two fights to champion Georges St-Pierre and top contender Johnny Hendricks, was not going to be defeated again.
Kampmann dominated the first round with his wrestling however Condit's laser-accurate, technical punching continually wore Kampmann down.
Condit poured on the heat in the third, taking apart Kampmann, who was lucky to survive the round.
The fourth was more of the same, with Condit picking apart the Dutch top 10 before a straight right and a vicious body-shot put Kampmann to the ground, with referee Herb Dean mercifully stepping in to end the fight.
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