UFC Fight Night 142: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Roe Jogan
- May 20
- 7 min read
Table of Contents
Introduction
UFC Fight Night 142: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa took place on Sunday, December 2, 2018 (Saturday, December 1 in North America) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Australia — broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 to 702,000 average viewers (883,000 peak, 471k FS1 prelims). The card drew 8,652 fans for a gate of $1,026,937. It was the second UFC event in Adelaide, following UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt in May 2015. The main event was a heavyweight bout between Junior dos Santos and Tai Tuivasa.
Dos Santos knocked out the previously undefeated Tuivasa at 2:30 of round two with punches, handing Tuivasa his first career loss. Mauricio Shogun Rua earned Performance of the Night for a third-round TKO of Tyson Pedro. Sodiq Yusuff earned Performance of the Night for a first-round TKO debut. Kai Kara-France and Elias Garcia earned Fight of the Night. Jimmy Crute submitted Paul Craig with a kimura on his UFC debut. Mark Hunt lost to Justin Willis by unanimous decision.
Second UFC in Adelaide — Heavy Aussie Card
Adelaide Entertainment Centre holds approximately 11,000 for MMA events. The 8,652 attendance and $1,026,937 gate were consistent with the previous Adelaide card’s commercial performance. The card’s matchmaking was strongly Australia-focused: Tuivasa, Pedro, Willis, Matthews, Kara-France, Crute, and Hunt all competed on a card that gave Australian audiences substantial local representation at multiple weight classes.
Tuivasa’s main event positioning was his first headliner fight and his commercial breakthrough moment: an undefeated 25-year-old Australian HW competing in his home country against a former UFC HW champion. His entrance energy — noted as particularly crowd-enthusiastic — reflected the local commercial investment in his result. JDS entering Adelaide on a two-fight win streak (Ivanov UD in Boise, then the Adelaide fight) demonstrated a methodical return to HW contendership.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: December 2, 2018 (2nd UFC in Adelaide; first since Miocic vs. Hunt May 2015)
📍 Venue: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
👥 Attendance: 8,652
💰 Gate: $1,026,937
📺 Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 — 702,000 avg. viewers (883k peak, 471k FS1 prelims)
🏆 Main Event: Junior dos Santos vs. Tai Tuivasa — HW (Tuivasa 10-0 undefeated professional; JDS on 2-fight win streak; Tuivasa’s first headliner fight)
✅ Result: dos Santos def. Tuivasa via TKO (punches) — R2, 2:30 (TUIVASA’S FIRST CAREER LOSS; JDS 3rd consecutive win; JDS dropped Tuivasa mid-exchange R2)
Main Event: JDS TKO of Tuivasa, Ending the Unbeaten Run
Tuivasa had entered Adelaide with 10 consecutive professional wins, including UFC stoppages of Rashad Coulter and Andrei Arlovski. His forward-pressure style, punch-first approach, and physical durability had built him as the Australian HW division’s most commercially promising active fighter. JDS’s tactical approach — technical boxing distance management against Tuivasa’s forward pressure — produced the decisive exchange in round two.
Tuivasa’s left low kick caused JDS to lose his footing momentarily in round one before JDS countered with the combination sequence that dropped Tuivasa in round two. The mid-exchange knockdown at 2:30 of round two produced the TKO stoppage, ending Tuivasa’s unbeaten record. JDS’s third consecutive UFC win placed him back in the HW top five and positioned him for the eventual rematch trilogy with Stipe Miocic.
Shogun’s Comeback PoN, Yusuff’s Debut & The Card
Shogun Rua’s third-round TKO of Tyson Pedro was the Adelaide card’s most emotionally compelling individual result. Just five months earlier, Shogun had been knocked out in round one by Anthony Smith at UFC Fight Night 134 in Hamburg. His Adelaide TKO of Pedro — another Australian LHW in front of the Adelaide crowd — was his bounce-back result at 36 years old. Pedro was a popular local athlete; Shogun’s finish of the home-crowd favourite earned the PoN bonus.
Sodiq Yusuff’s debut Performance of the Night TKO of Suman Mokhtarian in round one was Adelaide’s most commercially exciting individual debut result. Both Yusuff and Mokhtarian were making their UFC debuts; the bonus announcement was noted as two ‘octagon newcomers’ earning bonuses. Yusuff — a Nigerian-American FW — would build a top-five UFC FW career from this debut finish. Kai Kara-France’s dominant UD of Elias Garcia earned FotN; Kara-France was a New Zealand FLW who would become a UFC FLW title challenger.
Full Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Junior dos Santos def. Tai Tuivasa — TKO (punches) — R2, 2:30 — HW (TUIVASA’S FIRST CAREER LOSS; 10-0 entering; JDS 3rd consecutive win; dropped Tuivasa mid-exchange R2)
Mauricio Shogun Rua def. Tyson Pedro — TKO (punches) — R3, 0:43 — LHW (PoN $50k; SHOGUN BOUNCE-BACK after Hamburg Smith KO loss at FN134 5 months earlier; Pedro Australian local)
Justin Willis def. Mark Hunt — Unanimous Decision (29-28x3) — HW (Hunt’s career winding down)
Tony Martin def. Jake Matthews — Technical Submission (anaconda choke) — R3, 1:19 — WW
Sodiq Yusuff def. Suman Mokhtarian — TKO (punches) — R1, 2:14 — FW (PoN $50k; UFC DEBUT for both fighters; Yusuff Nigerian-American FW future top-5)
Jimmy Crute def. Paul Craig — Submission (kimura) — R3, 4:51 — LHW (CRUTE’S UFC DEBUT; future LHW contender!)
Preliminary Card (FS1 / UFC Fight Pass)
Alexei Kunchenko def. Yushin Okami — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — WW
Wilson Reis def. Ben Nguyen — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — FLW
Keita Nakamura def. Salim Touahri — Split Decision — WW
Kai Kara-France def. Elias Garcia — Unanimous Decision (30-25x3) — FLW (FotN $50k each; Kara-France NZ FLW; future UFC FLW title challenger!)
Christos Giagos def. Mizuto Hirota — Unanimous Decision — LW
Damir Ismagulov def. Alex Gorgees — Unanimous Decision — LW
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Kai Kara-France + Elias Garcia — $50,000 each
🥇 Performance of the Night: Mauricio Rua + Sodiq Yusuff — $50,000 each (two octagon newcomers among bonus winners!)
Records & Milestones
• Tai Tuivasa’s first career loss (was 10-0 professional).
• JDS’s 3rd consecutive win since returning from USADA provisional suspension (Ivanov UD + Tuivasa TKO).
• Both Yusuff and Mokhtarian debuting — two octagon newcomers producing bonus performances.
Legacy & Impact
Tuivasa’s first career loss was a temporary setback in an Australian HW career that subsequently produced wins over Stefan Struve, Andrei Arlovski in their rematch, and Derrick Lewis, including the beer-shoey celebrations that made him one of the UFC’s most crowd-beloved individual performers. JDS’s Adelaide win set up his eventual rematch with Stipe Miocic at UFC 211 in January 2019, where he was stopped in round two. Kai Kara-France’s FotN was the beginning of a FLW career that produced the interim UFC FLW Championship challenge against Brandon Moreno at UFC 277 in July 2022.
Sodiq Yusuff’s debut PoN opened a UFC FW career that produced wins over Gabriel Benitez, Sheymon Moraes, and Andre Fili before a top-five FW run with wins over Edson Barboza and Arnold Allen. Jimmy Crute’s debut kimura of Paul Craig launched a UFC LHW career with additional wins and a notable fight against Anthony Smith. Shogun Rua’s Adelaide PoN was one of his final individual competitive highlights at LHW at age 36.
FAQ
What was Tuivasa’s unbeaten record significance?
Tuivasa had won 10 consecutive professional fights before Adelaide, including TKOs of Rashad Coulter and Andrei Arlovski in the UFC. His physicality — a Parramatta, New South Wales HW with a boxing-first style — and his crowd personality had produced him as the Australian HW division’s most commercially significant active fighter. His first career loss to JDS in Adelaide was his most significant career setback; his subsequent win streak and celebrity beer-shoey tradition rebuilt his commercial profile significantly.
What was Shogun’s bounce-back context?
Rua had been knocked out in round one by Anthony Smith at UFC Fight Night 134 in Hamburg in July 2018 — five months before Adelaide. At 36 years old, a first-round KO loss raised questions about his competitive longevity. His Adelaide TKO of Pedro in round three demonstrated that his punch quality and stopping power remained functional. The PoN bonus — before an Australian crowd rooting for Pedro — was a commercially surprising individual result given his Hamburg position.
Who was Kai Kara-France before Adelaide?
Kara-France was a 27-year-old Auckland, New Zealand flyweight who had gone 14-7 professionally before his Adelaide fight against Elias Garcia. His 30-25 scorecards across all three judges reflected a dominant performance against a capable FLW opponent. His subsequent UFC FLW career produced wins over Tyson Nam, Alexandre Pantoja (via split decision), and Brandon Royval before the interim championship fight against Brandon Moreno at UFC 277 in July 2022.
What was Mark Hunt’s Adelaide position?
Hunt was 44 years old in Adelaide, competing in his home region after a career that included wins over Frank Mir, Bigfoot Silva, and Derrick Lewis. His unanimous decision loss to Willis reflected a competitive standard that the younger HW was able to maintain across three rounds against Hunt’s power-centric style. Hunt’s subsequent UFC career produced one more fight before his release and retirement. Adelaide was one of his last competitive UFC appearances.
What was Jimmy Crute’s debut significance?
Crute was a 21-year-old Melbourne, Victoria LHW making his UFC debut after a run on the Australian circuit. His kimura submission of Paul Craig — a Scottish LHW with UFC experience and submission quality — in round three demonstrated the grappling ability that would characterise his UFC LHW career. Craig, a submission specialist himself, being submitted by a debuting Australian in front of an Adelaide crowd was an individually compelling result.
What was Sodiq Yusuff’s debut context?
Yusuff was a 26-year-old Ibadan, Nigeria-born, United States-based featherweight who had gone 9-1 professionally before Adelaide. His opponent Suman Mokhtarian was an Australian FW making his own UFC debut. Yusuff’s first-round TKO of the local fighter before the Adelaide crowd was a commercially bold debut result. His subsequent UFC FW career produced the top-five ranking through wins over multiple established FW opponents.
References
Comments