Matches to Make After UFC Fight Night ‘Lewis vs. Hunt’

Mark Hunt beat back age and mileage one more time.

The 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner kept his name relevant in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division, as he turned away Derrick Lewis with fourth-round punches in the UFC Fight Night 110 main event on Saturday at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Lewis succumbed to blows 3:51 into Round 4, his six-fight winning streak at an end.

Hunt denied all three of the former Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder’s takedown attempts and slowly increased the pace and intensity of his strikes. According to FightMetric data, he outlanded Lewis 16-10 in the third round and 24-13 in the fourth. Late in Round 4, Hunt pushed his fading counterpart to the fence and unleashed a string of punches and elbows. Lewis doubled over and did not respond to referee Marc Goddard’s calls to fight back, prompting the stoppage.

In the aftermath of UFC Fight Night “Lewis vs. Hunt,” here are six matches that ought to be made:

Mark Hunt vs. Andrei Arlovski-Marcin Tybura winner: If it has not reached universal heights already, the reverence for Hunt grows with each improbable victory inside the Octagon. The 43-year-old Kiwi rebounded from back-to-back losses to Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem -- the former was later changed to a no-contest -- by cheating Father Time and soundly defeating the aforementioned Lewis. Hunt now holds an 8-5-1 record under the UFC flag and figures to catch meaningful bouts for as long as he chooses to stick around. Arlovski and Tybura will square off at UFC Fight Night 11 on June 17 in Singapore.

Derek Brunson vs. Paulo Henrique Costa: Brunson took out his frustrations from a two-fight losing streak on Daniel Kelly in the co-main event, as he blew away the four-time Olympian in a little more than a minute. The Wilmington, North Carolina, native sent Kelly crashing to the canvas with an overhand left and followed up with punches, netting the stoppage 76 seconds into Round 1. Brunson now sports 13 first-round finishes among his 17 career wins. The unbeaten Costa improved to 10-0 at UFC 212, where he wiped out Oluwale Bamgbose with second-round punches on June 3.

Ben Nguyen vs. Magomed Bibulatov: Nguyen won for the 11th time in 12 appearances and did so in surprising fashion, as he submitted “The Ultimate Fighter 24” winner Tim Elliott with a first-round rear-naked choke in their flyweight feature. A short-notice fill-in for the injured Joseph Benavidez, Elliott tapped 49 seconds into Round 1. Nguyen has compiled a 4-1 record since arriving in the UFC in May 2015, sandwiching victories over Elliott, Geane Herrera, Ryan Benoit and Alptekin Ozkilic around a technical knockout loss to Louis Smolka. Bibulatov made his Octagon debut at UFC 210 on April 8, when he took a unanimous decision from Jenel Lausa to improve to 14-0.

Dan Hooker vs. Damir Hadzovic: Making the most of the main-card spotlight, Hooker knocked out Ross Pearson with a knee strike in the second round of their lightweight showcase. The New Zealander drew the curtain on Pearson 3:02 into Round 2, as he handed “The Ultimate Fighter 9” winner his fourth straight defeat. Hooker, 27, has alternated wins and losses through seven UFC appearances, his victories over Pearson, Mark Eddiva, Hatsu Hioki and Ian Entwistle offset by setbacks against Jason Knight, Yair Rodriguez and Maximo Blanco. Hadzovic netted a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus at UFC Fight Night 109 on May 28, when he took out Polish leg lock specialist Marcin Held with a third-round knee at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Myles Jury: No fighter was more impressive or thorough than Volkanovski at UFC Fight Night 110, as he abused former Deep and Sengoku champion Mizuto Hirota across three rounds on the undercard. The surging featherweight contender finds himself on a 12-fight winning streak that stretches back more than four years; and at 28, Volkanovski only figures to improve as he navigates the waters at 145 pounds. Jury returned from an extended absence at UFC 210 in April, when he tore through Mike de la Torre with first-round punches and elbows at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.

Ion Cutelaba vs. Gian Villante-Patrick Cummins winner: Cutelaba exudes intensity and confidence. The aptly named “Hulk” smashed Luis Henrique da Silva with punches 22 seconds into the first round of their featured confrontation at 205 pounds, flooring the Brazilian with a thudding left hand before mopping up the rest with brutal ground-and-pound. Cutelaba has rattled off nine wins in 11 outings, losing only to Jared Cannonier and Misha Cirkunov. Villante and Cummins are scheduled to do battle at UFC on Fox 25 in July.