Introduction
UFC Fight Night 43: Te Huna vs. Marquardt took place on Saturday, June 28, 2014 at the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand — broadcast exclusively on UFC Fight Pass, attended by 8,089 fans for a gate of $913,000. It was the first UFC event ever held in New Zealand. The card also held an unfortunate distinction: it was the first UFC main event in history where both fighters entered on two-fight losing streaks — both Nate Marquardt and James Te Huna had lost their previous two UFC bouts.
Despite its modest main event billing, the card over-delivered: six of ten bouts ended inside the distance. The highlight of the evening was Charles Oliveira’s Hatsu Hioki submission — a flowing sequence involving an anaconda choke, Peruvian necktie, and sit-through guillotine that Sherdog named their Submission of the Year for 2014. Dan Hooker made his UFC debut on home soil with a first-round TKO win. Jake Matthews made his UFC debut at 19. Robert Whittaker won a unanimous decision at welterweight — still years from his move to middleweight and eventual championship run.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, June 28, 2014 (Sunday June 29 NZST)
📍 Venue: Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand (FIRST UFC event in New Zealand)
👥 Attendance: 8,089
💰 Gate: $913,000
📺 Broadcast: UFC Fight Pass (exclusive)
🏆 Main Event: Nate Marquardt vs. James Te Huna — Middleweight (both entered on 2-fight losing streaks)
✅ Result: Marquardt def. Te Huna via Submission (armbar) — R1, 4:34 (PoN $50k)
Oliveira’s Submission of the Year
Charles Oliveira’s finish of Hatsu Hioki was not one move but a continuous flow of three: an anaconda choke that Hioki defended, transitioning to a Peruvian necktie, then pivoting through a sit-through guillotine sequence that caught Hioki’s neck at 4:32 of round two. The submission required not just physical strength but grappling artistry — the ability to chain submission attempts without resetting, reading Hioki’s defensive adjustments and flowing into the next attack before he could stabilize. Sherdog named it their Submission of the Year for 2014. Oliveira earned Performance of the Night. It was an early demonstration of the submission genius that would eventually make him the UFC’s all-time submission leader.
Full Results
Main Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Nate Marquardt def. James Te Huna — Submission (armbar) — R1, 4:34 — Middleweight (PoN $50k; first win since 2011; both entered on 2-fight losing streaks)
Jared Rosholt def. Soa Palelei — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — Heavyweight
Charles Oliveira def. Hatsu Hioki — Submission (anaconda/Peruvian necktie/guillotine chain) — R2, 4:32 — Featherweight (PoN $50k; Sherdog Submission of the Year 2014)
Robert Whittaker def. Mike Rhodes — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — Welterweight (future UFC MW champion still competing at WW)
Preliminary Card
Jake Matthews def. Dashon Johnson — Submission (triangle choke) — R3, 3:16 — Welterweight (Australian UFC debut at 19)
Richie Vaculik def. Roldan Sangcha-an — Bantamweight
Vik Grujic def. Chris Indich — TKO — R1, 4:55 — Light Heavyweight
Neil Magny def. Rodrigo de Lima — TKO — R2, 2:32 — Welterweight
Dan Hooker def. Ian Entwistle — TKO (elbows) — R1 — Featherweight (UFC debut for both; Hooker fought at home in Auckland)
Gian Villante def. Sean O’Connell — Split Decision — Light Heavyweight (FotN $50k each; 15-minute brawl)
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Gian Villante + Sean O’Connell — $50,000 each
🥇 Performance of the Night: Nate Marquardt + Charles Oliveira — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• First UFC event ever in New Zealand.
• First UFC main event where both fighters entered on back-to-back losing streaks.
• Charles Oliveira’s chained submission of Hioki won Sherdog’s Submission of the Year 2014.
• Dan Hooker’s UFC debut — the New Zealander’s first appearance in the Octagon, on home soil.
• Robert Whittaker competing at welterweight — the future undisputed UFC middleweight champion had not yet made his divisional move.
Legacy & Impact
Fight Night 43 planted multiple seeds. Dan Hooker went on to become one of the UFC’s most popular lightweight fighters, compiling wins over James Vick, Ross Pearson, Gilbert Burns, and earning Fight of the Night for his wars with Dustin Poirier and Paul Felder. Jake Matthews became one of the longest-tenured Australian UFC welterweights. Whittaker’s welterweight win here was his last at 170 lbs before he moved to middleweight and began the run that made him the undisputed UFC champion. Charles Oliveira’s Auckland submission was one of dozens in a career that eventually made him the UFC’s all-time submission win record holder.
FAQ
What made Oliveira’s Hioki submission Sherdog’s pick of the year?
The submission required Oliveira to chain three distinct grappling attacks in sequence without resetting: the anaconda (a forearm-wrap front choke that Hioki partially defended), transitioning through the Peruvian necktie position (which tightened the neck attack while adding body compression), and completing the sequence with a sit-through guillotine variation that finally produced the tap. Chaining three named submission positions in real-time against a resisting opponent is a level of grappling creativity and technical fluency that stands apart from single-technique finishes. Sherdog’s judges across 2014 saw nothing that matched its complexity or flow.
Why did the main event feature two fighters on losing streaks?
Te Huna was the New Zealand-based fighter whose local appeal justified headlining the country’s first UFC event, despite having lost his previous two bouts (KO losses to Shogun Rua and Glover Teixeira). Marquardt was a veteran middleweight name with historical pedigree (former UFC MW title contender, beaten Anderson Silva twice) whose record at the time showed two consecutive losses. The UFC’s calculation was that the historical significance of the first New Zealand event could carry a main event that was more about narrative and local interest than technical match quality. The arrangement was unprecedented statistically but commercially justified for the market.