MMA's legal battle with hard-nosed Australian politicians came to an end earlier in March when it was announced that the ban on 'cage fighting' was lifted in the state of Victoria. The UFC and a host of other mixed martial arts promotions that use the steel cage as an outlet for combat were unable to host events in the Australian state unless the fighters fought in a ring. Since the ban was overturned in March, the UFC announced their long-awaited expansion into Australia's second largest city, Melbourne, for UFC 193's pay-per-view offering on Sunday, November 15.

Despite the lifted ban, former governor of Victoria, Denis Napthine, is still discouraging MMA cage fighting competition in the Australian state, as the 63-year-old took to Twitter to blast MMA's head promotion:

Mark Hunt hit 361 times in w/end Cage Fight & Daniel Andrews wants to legalise this thuggery & brutality in Victoria. pic.twitter.com/R8EL8KGR1n — Denis Napthine (@denisvnapthine) May 11, 2015

UFC Fight Night 65 hosted a main event heavyweight clash between Mark Hunt and Stipe Miocic on Saturday night in Adelaide, Australia, which saw the Super Samoan beaten from pillar to post by a determined Miocic. Although the referee eventually intervened and stopped Hunt from further punishment midway through the fifth round, many MMA enthusiasts have ridiculed the Octagon officials and cornermen for not putting an end to the beating much earlier.

The former K-1 champ looked exhausted from the 2nd round - heavy breathing and laboured punches invited Miocic to score with counter takedowns and an onslaught of ground-and-pound, resulting in a 23-minute thrashing in front of a dejected, pro-Hunt Australian crowd.

Despite a prolonged beating and ridicule from neighbouring politicians, the 66-fight veteran (including boxing and kick boxing bouts) seemed to be in high spirits, as he apologised to fans on Twitter: