Australia’s position in the UFC may not be as strong as it is now – and it went one step further with the Australians claiming a trio in Singapore on Sunday.
Jack Della Madalena and Jack Mathews were both promoted to the original pay-per-view card and rewarded for the confidence shown to them by the fight organizers, each recording ending impressively.
Joshua Culibao won by an early card decision, while Jacob Malcolm came close to sweeping the Australian clean, losing 29-28 on just three scorecards.
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Training partner and former middleweight champion Robert Whitaker clearly disagreed with the decision, as he watched from the ringside.
But apart from Malcolm’s defeat, it was a perfect day for the Australian team – Matthews recorded the biggest win of his life, knocking out Portugal’s Andre Fialho in the second round.
“I’ve had this kind of skill level all my career, and thank God we’ve been able to fight this time,” he said after the fight.
“Get used to it.”
Matthews used his time at the microphone to make his case for appearing on the UFC’s Paris card in September, which is already Whitaker, so Tuivasa and hopefully will include Tyson Pedro.
“Hello Paris!” He said.
“My guys in Australia are fighting in France. I want to get that card too. Let’s go.”
His victory came just minutes after Ramzan Amiev’s Della Madalena’s Round One TKO, with body shots proving too much for the Russians.
Aussie Jack Della Madalena has continued his unbeaten UFC career
Imiv has never been stopped at the UFC before, winning or losing each of his first seven fights by decision.
Della Madalena told the Wide World of Sports before the fight that her goal was to win through a stoppage and she was duly compelled in less than two minutes.
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