Clean Sweep for Australian and New Zealand Fighters on the International Stage

It was a huge weekend for Australian and New Zealand MMA, with local fighters going unbeaten across Road to UFC and UFC Macau.

George Mangos, Kasib Murdoch and Joseph Larcinese all advanced through their Road to UFC quarterfinals, while Cody Haddon and Jake Matthews added UFC wins in Macau to complete a perfect run for the local contingent.

Kasib Murdoch Takes Yunosuke Minami to Deep Waters in Dominant Road to UFC Submission Win

Kasib Murdoch produced one of the most suffocating performances of the Road to UFC opening round, submitting Yunosuke Minami by arm-triangle choke late in the third round after a punishing display of pressure, control and ground-and-pound.

Minami started fast, showing sharp hands early in round one. He landed a quick jab, threw in combinations and looked dangerous whenever the fight stayed at range. Murdoch’s first takedown attempts were not sticking and Minami was reading the early entries well, landing enough clean shots to knock Murdoch off balance and test his composure.

Murdoch did not panic. He kept working forward, eventually grabbing a single leg around 90 seconds into the opening round and forcing Minami into his fight.

From there, Murdoch began to grind. He pressed Minami into the mat, landed elbows from half guard, dragged him back down when he tried to stand, and moved into mount late in the round. Even when Minami escaped, Murdoch kept leaning on him, punching, kneeing and sapping the energy out of him before the horn.

Round two was where it started to look like there was only one outcome. Minami again showed flashes of skill on the feet, landing fast shots early, but Murdoch used looping hooks and forward pressure to close the distance and get hold of him.

A fence grab from Minami led to an immediate point deduction, but it did not stop the takedown.

Murdoch got him down again and completely took over. He landed heavy punches and elbows from top position, battered Minami while he was turtled, and came close to forcing a stoppage. Murdoch’s control and damage were so dominant that the round was scored 10-7 after the point deduction.

By the third, Minami had visibly slowed. Murdoch wasted little time taking him down again and went straight back to the same suffocating top pressure. He smothered Minami, landed more heavy shots, and had the referee repeatedly asking Minami to move and work.

The TKO looked close, but when the stoppage did not come, Murdoch found the finish anyway, locking in an arm-triangle choke at 3:46 of round three.

The numbers backed up what the eyes saw. Murdoch outlanded Minami 178-21 in total strikes, 74-20 in significant strikes, landed at 63 per cent, and racked up more than 11 minutes of control time.

Murdoch now moves into the Road to UFC bantamweight semifinals against Rabindra Dhant, with a UFC contract still firmly in sight.

George Mangos Looks as Slick as Ever, Claiming the First of Three Promised Round-One Finishes

Facing Yuito Yanagawa in the Road to UFC featherweight bracket, George Mangos looked calm, sharp and ready for the moment.

Mangos pressed forward early and forced Yanagawa into the first grappling exchange. Yanagawa shot while Mangos was in close, leading to a clinch battle against the cage where both fighters traded short shots and fought for position.

Yanagawa then showed his own craft, sneaking in an inside trip and launching himself towards Mangos’ back. But as they came down, Mangos drove Yanagawa’s head towards the mat and ended up on top.

From there, Yanagawa scrambled well, rolling underneath Mangos and threatening with an arm-in guillotine.

Mangos calmly slipped his head free, settled back on top and started landing heavy shots while avoiding Yanagawa’s submission attempts. Yanagawa did well to create space with a butterfly hook and work his way back to the feet, but that only put him back into the danger zone.

As they stood in close, Mangos landed a thunderous left knee, followed by another left knee and then a right knee that sent Yanagawa crashing down. Mangos followed up and claimed the round-one TKO in beautiful fashion.

With the win, Mangos advances in the Road to UFC featherweight tournament and sets up a semifinal clash with Ahejiang Ailinuer.

Joseph Larcinese Takes Early Lead in Close, High-Level Decision Win

Joseph “Big Sexy” Larcinese locked in the Trans-Tasman quarterfinal sweep with a split decision win over Ryoga Arimoto.

Larcinese started well, landing a big uppercut early that forced Arimoto to shoot. Larcinese reversed the position and controlled the next few minutes. Once they broke, he looked sharp on the feet, using footwork and head movement to slip shots and land clean right hands.

Round two was the deciding round. Larcinese opened aggressively, landing big shots and a takedown, before Arimoto worked back up and started finding success in the exchanges.

Arimoto showed good fight IQ, throwing to where Larcinese was moving rather than simply chasing him, but Larcinese still had strong moments and briefly took him down again.

It was a close round. Larcinese edged the significant strikes 38-33 and landed two takedowns, which proved to be the difference on two of the judges’ scorecards.

Arimoto clearly took the third. He pressed Larcinese against the cage, landed strong knees to the body and looked more confident as the round went on. Larcinese still showed toughness, throwing back, moving and continuing to threaten takedowns, but the final round belonged to Arimoto.

Larcinese did enough to win a very competitive and entertaining fight and now moves into the Road to UFC flyweight semifinals against Takaya Suzuki.

Cody Haddon Shows He Can Win Anywhere in Violent UFC Macau Return

Cody Haddon returned after 595 days away and showed he has the skills to win wherever the fight goes, stopping Aoriqileng in the second round at UFC Macau.

The fight began with both men feeling each other out, before Haddon got hold of Aoriqileng. He slammed him to the mat and controlled him for most of the opening round, taking the back, looking for chokes and landing heavy elbows and punches from top position.

It was not passive control either. Haddon was constantly looking to finish, mixing positional dominance with big damage and making the round one-way traffic.

In round two, Haddon used his striking to close the distance and again worked towards the takedown. Aoriqileng threatened with a guillotine, but it was never really a threat. Haddon escaped and kept the pressure on.

When the fight returned to the feet, they traded briefly before Haddon’s chain wrestling again drew praise from the commentary team.

Then came the finish. As the commentators were still talking about his grappling, Haddon landed two beautiful knees to the body that folded Aoriqileng and brought the fight to an end.

After such a long layoff, this was a serious return. Haddon’s toughest opponent over the last 595 days may have been his own body, but at UFC Macau he reminded everyone why he is one of Australia’s most exciting fighters.

Big things should be ahead after this performance.

Jake Matthews Puts Himself in Rankings Conversation With Three-Round Masterclass

Jake Matthews capped off the perfect international run for Australian and New Zealand MMA with a masterclass unanimous decision win over Carlston Harris at UFC Macau.

From the opening round, Matthews looked phenomenal. He picked Harris apart on the feet, working combinations to the head and body while constantly exiting before Harris could answer.

His footwork and head movement were excellent, leaving Harris swinging at air while Matthews stepped in, landed clean and got back out of range.

Round two started with Harris shooting desperately, trying to change the momentum of the fight, but Matthews reversed him almost immediately and took over on top. From there, he dominated the round, threatening submissions, landing shots and giving Harris very little room to build back into the fight.

In the third, Matthews went straight back to work. He teed off with sharp boxing, dropped Harris with a right hand, then followed him to the mat and continued to dominate. He threatened submissions, landed heavy shots from top position and closed the fight in complete control.

After years in the UFC, it can be easy to take Matthews for granted, but performances like this are a reminder of how good he is. With a clean three-round win over Harris, Matthews has put himself in the welterweight rankings conversation.

Five fights. Five wins. Three Road to UFC semifinalists and two UFC victories in Macau.

Not a bad weekend for the Australian and New Zealand scene, and another reminder that the talent coming through this region is starting to travel very well.

- Written by: Toby Maher

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