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Former UFC heavyweight world champion Junior Dos Santos has handed Australian Tai Tuivasa the first loss of his MMA career.
Tai Tuivasa's unbeaten MMA record has been shattered in a second-round stoppage loss to former world champion Junior Dos Santos on a grim day for Australia at the UFC show in Adelaide.
Mark Hunt, in his final UFC fight, Tyson Pedro and Jake Matthews also suffered losses on Sunday.
A win in his UFC debut for highly touted Victorian Jim Crute was the only bright spot on the main card as Brazilian veterans Dos Santos and Mauricio Rua stole the show.
Tuivasa, who was 10-0 going into Sunday's fight and 3-0 in the UFC, finished the first round well and also seemed to be handling the striking power of 34-year-old Dos Santos.
The Sydneysider also started the second round well before bring floored with a big right hand.
Dos Santos then pounded the Australian with a number of blows before the referee intervened to stop the contest.
"I was on my back I ... I couldn't get up,'" Tuivasa said.
He said he pressured Dos Santos and stuck to his game plan but it wasn't enough.
"That's the sport," Tuivasa said.
Dos Santos praised the 25-year-old Australian after showing plenty of durability of his own while absorbing some powerful punches and kicks.
"I knew this guy was tough but not that tough," Dos Santos said.
In the co-main event, Pedro suffered a third-round stoppage loss to Brazil's former light heavyweight world champion Rua, who was ranked one place higher.
The Sydneysider got the better of the first round but Rua dominated the second and finished the job in the third.
Celebrated veteran Hunt was unable to mark the end of his UFC tenure with a win as American Justin Willis employed smart tactics to claim a unanimous points victory.
Ranked 10th, five places above Willis, Hunt was unable to land any of his famed fight-changing punches against an opponent who stayed out of range and picked off the 44-year-old veteran with a snappy right jab.
Hunt took some kicks to the leg and his footwork looked slow as all three judges scored 29-28 to the American.
"My apologies about the performance," said Hunt, who intends to continue his fighting career.
Light heavyweight Crute scored a submission win over Scotland's Paul Craig with nine seconds of the three-round bout left.
"That feels incredible. I've dreamt of this moment for 10 years," Crute said.
Matthews' three-fight winning streak at welterweight level came to an end in the third round against American Rocco Martin.
