Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Hunt’s Auckland Homecoming & The Weight of 43
3. Quick Stats
4. Main Event: Hunt Stops Lewis in the Fourth
5. Volkanovski’s Debut, Hooker’s KO & The Card
6. Full Results
7. Bonuses & Awards
8. Records & Milestones
9. Legacy & Impact
10. FAQ
Introduction
UFC Fight Night 110: Lewis vs. Hunt took place on Sunday, June 11, 2017 (Saturday, June 10 in North America) at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand — broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 to 923,000 average viewers (696k FS1 prelims). The card drew 8,649 fans for a gate of NZD $1,150,428. It was the second UFC event in Auckland, following UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt in June 2014. The main event was a heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Mark Hunt.
Hunt stopped Lewis by TKO in round four in front of his hometown Auckland crowd — the first time in his professional career that the New Zealand native had competed professionally in the city. He was 43 years old. Lewis hinted at potential retirement after the loss. Mark Hunt and Derrick Lewis earned Fight of the Night. Dan Hooker and Ben Nguyen earned Performance of the Night. Alexander Volkanovski's unanimous decision over Mizuto Hirota was the card's most historically significant result in retrospect: his UFC debut.
Hunt’s Auckland Homecoming & The Weight of 43
Mark Hunt’s professional MMA career had begun in 2004 and had taken him to K-1 kickboxing championships, UFC title fights, and six continents of competition. Auckland — the city where he was born and raised — had hosted UFC events twice before FN110, but Hunt had never competed in Auckland professionally. His first Auckland professional appearance came at 43 years old, in the twilight of a career defined by extraordinary durability and one-punch knockout power.
Hunt entered the Auckland card having lost three of his previous six UFC fights, though one of those losses — a decision to Brock Lesnar at UFC 200 — was subsequently overturned to a No Contest when Lesnar tested positive for clomiphene. His competitive motivation for this Auckland fight was a mix of personal legacy and commercial opportunity: fighting in his hometown at the end of a long career, against Lewis who arrived on a six-fight UFC win streak including five KOs.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Sunday June 11, 2017 / Saturday June 10 US (2nd UFC in Auckland; first since June 2014)
📍 Venue: Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
👥 Attendance: 8,649
💰 Gate: NZD $1,150,428
📺 Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 — 923,000 avg. viewers (696k prelims)
🏆 Main Event: Derrick Lewis vs. Mark Hunt — HW (Hunt’s FIRST professional fight in Auckland, age 43; Lewis on 6-fight UFC win streak including 5 KOs)
✅ Result: Hunt def. Lewis via TKO (punches) — R4, 3:51 (FotN $50k each; Hunt dominated; Lewis hinted retirement post-fight; Hunt: ‘This is my ‘hood, I run this town’)
Main Event: Hunt Stops Lewis in the Fourth
Lewis’ six-fight winning streak had been built on power KOs and durability. His Auckland fight against Hunt was expected to be a competitive collision of knockout punchers: two of the HW division’s most dangerous one-punch finishers. Instead, it developed as a lopsided tactical contest. Hunt controlled the pace and the physical exchange across all four rounds; Lewis struggled to keep pace physically and found himself unable to mount sustained offensive sequences.
In round four, Hunt’s sustained offensive pressure produced the TKO at 3:51 as the referee intervened to prevent Lewis from absorbing unnecessary punishment. The Auckland crowd responded to Hunt’s performance with the full intensity of a home nation sporting moment. His post-fight declaration — ‘I know Derrick Lewis is from the ‘hood, but this is my ‘hood. I run this town’ — was one of the most celebrated post-fight interview moments of 2017. Lewis hinted at potential retirement in his post-fight comments — a hint he did not ultimately follow through on, returning for subsequent fights and title challenges.
Volkanovski’s Debut, Hooker’s KO & The Card
Alexander Volkanovski’s unanimous decision over Mizuto Hirota was the Auckland card’s most commercially significant result in hindsight. The Australian featherweight — a former rugby league player who had converted to MMA in 2012 — defeated Hirota clearly across three rounds with a physical wrestling and pressure style that did not yet display the full range of striking that defined his peak. His UFC debut UD was a technical foundation result that produced no bonus and limited immediate public recognition. His trajectory from Auckland 2017 to the UFC FW Championship at UFC 245 in December 2019 was a 2.5-year build.
Dan Hooker’s second-round KO of Ross Pearson was the Auckland card’s most celebrated individual competitive moment among the home crowd. Hooker was a New Zealand lightweight who had been developing his UFC record; his KO of Pearson in front of his home country audience was the performance that established him as a legitimate UFC LW contender in the New Zealand MMA community. Ion Cutelaba’s 22-second KO of Henrique da Silva was the card’s fastest individual finish. Derek Brunson’s first-round KO of Dan Kelly eliminated a well-prepared Australian MW.
Full Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Mark Hunt def. Derrick Lewis — TKO (punches) — R4, 3:51 — HW (FotN $50k each; Hunt’s first Auckland pro fight age 43; Lewis hinted retirement; ‘This is my ‘hood’)
Derek Brunson def. Dan Kelly — KO (punches) — R1, 1:16 — MW (Brunson dominant; Kelly Australian MW)
Dan Hooker def. Ross Pearson — KO (knee) — R2, 3:02 — LW (PoN $50k; Hooker NZ fighter in front of home crowd; breakout Auckland performance)
Ion Cutelaba def. Henrique da Silva — KO (punches) — R1, 0:22 — LHW (22-second KO!)
Ben Nguyen def. Tim Elliott — Submission (RNC) — R1, 0:49 — FW (PoN $50k; Nguyen’s first UFC win; Elliott replaced Benavidez who pulled with knee injury)
Alexander Volkanovski def. Mizuto Hirota — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — FW (VOLKANOVSKI UFC DEBUT; future UFC FW champion at UFC 245 December 2019; former Australian rugby player)
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1 / UFC Fight Pass)
Vinc Pichel def. Damien Brown — KO R1, 3:37 — LW
Luke Jumeau def. Dominique Steele — WW (local NZ fighter)
John Moraga def. Ashkan Mokhtarian — FW
Zak Ottow def. Kiichi Kunimoto — WW (replaced Warlley Alves who pulled with injury)
J.J. Aldrich def. Chan-Mi Jeon — UD (30-27x3) — Women’s SBW
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Mark Hunt + Derrick Lewis — $50,000 each
🥇 Performance of the Night: Dan Hooker + Ben Nguyen — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• Mark Hunt’s first professional fight in Auckland, New Zealand — aged 43; first professional hometown appearance in a 13-year career.
• Alexander Volkanovski’s UFC debut — the beginning of a FW career that produced the UFC FW Championship at UFC 245 in December 2019.
• Ion Cutelaba’s 22-second KO — one of the fastest finishes in the Auckland card’s history.
Legacy & Impact
Volkanovski’s Auckland debut was step one of a FW career that produced consecutive wins over Jose Aldo, Max Holloway (twice), Brian Ortega, and Yair Rodriguez. His UFC FW championship reign from December 2019 through 2022 established him as one of the division’s most dominant champions. His Auckland debut result — a methodical UD with no bonus — gave no indication of the stylistic evolution that produced the world champion. Dan Hooker’s Auckland breakout produced a subsequent LW career that made him a top-ten UFC LW: wins over Jim Miller, Al Iaquinta, Paul Felder, and Jalin Turner defined his career phase.
Lewis’ Auckland loss ended his 6-fight win streak. His retirement hints did not materialise: he returned at UFC Fight Night 116 in August 2017 with a win over Fabricio Werdum that extended his HW contendership. His subsequent career produced the HW title fight against Stipe Miocic at UFC 220 and a second title fight against Daniel Cormier at UFC 230. Mark Hunt’s Auckland TKO was the final victory in a UFC career that wound down through 2017-2018.
FAQ
Why had Hunt never fought in Auckland professionally before this?
Hunt’s professional career began in 2004 and was initially structured around K-1 kickboxing circuits in Japan. When he transitioned to MMA, his UFC bookings were placed in markets that maximised commercial value — US, Canada, Australia, and Asia-Pacific events that did not always align with New Zealand card scheduling. The UFC only hosted two Auckland events before FN110 (Te Huna vs. Marquardt in June 2014), neither of which Hunt appeared on. By the time FN110 was planned, Hunt’s late-career status made the Auckland homecoming a natural commercial and personal fit.
Who was Alexander Volkanovski before his UFC debut?
Volkanovski was a 28-year-old Australian FW from Windang, New South Wales, who had been a professional rugby league player with the Warilla-Lake South Gorillas before discovering MMA at age 18. He had gone 13-0 professionally on Australian regional circuits before his UFC signing. His physical attributes — exceptional wrestling-based pressure, high output, and elite conditioning — were visible in the Auckland debut but not yet attached to the diverse striking arsenal he developed under coach Josh Emmett. His debut was conservative; his championship run was not.
How did Lewis hint at retirement?
Lewis’ post-fight comments expressed uncertainty about his continued career: he described the Auckland loss in terms that suggested he was questioning his motivation and competitive future. The comments were widely covered in MMA media as a potential retirement signal. He did not follow through — returning to win his next fight against Fabricio Werdum at UFC Fight Night 116 in August 2017 by TKO and later competing in multiple UFC HW title fights. His Auckland loss turned out to be a temporary setback rather than a career-ending moment.
What was Dan Hooker’s career context in Auckland?
Hooker was a 27-year-old New Zealand lightweight from Auckland who had been developing his UFC record across four previous UFC appearances, most notably a loss to Ross Pearson by split decision at UFC Fight Night 80 in October 2015. The Auckland rematch against Pearson — in front of his home country audience — was an opportunity to reverse his previous result with home support. His KO of Pearson in round two with a knee established him as a genuine UFC LW contender and made him one of New Zealand’s most celebrated active UFC fighters.
What was Mark Hunt’s standing in the HW division at this point?
Hunt’s HW career included a draw with Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva in December 2013 (widely considered one of the most exciting fights in UFC HW history), a former interim UFC HW title fight against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 180, and his November 2016 fight against Brock Lesnar at UFC 200 (later overturned to NC when Lesnar tested positive). His Auckland result against Lewis — a decisive TKO — temporarily restored his top-ten HW position despite being 43 years old.
Why is Ion Cutelaba’s 22-second KO notable?
Cutelaba’s KO of Henrique da Silva at 0:22 of round one was the Auckland card’s fastest finish. The Romanian-Canadian LHW had been building his UFC LHW record with finishing performances. A 22-second KO in the UFC is an extremely rare result: it requires a combination of timing, power, and an opponent who walks into contact in the opening seconds. Cutelaba’s Auckland result was one of the five fastest KOs in UFC LHW divisional history at the time.