It has not even been a year since Bryan Battle won The Ultimate Fighter 29 but the 27-year-old has quickly risen up the ranks and just made his biggest statement yet.
Entering the octagon for his welterweight debut, Battle (8-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) landed a thundering head kick to send Takashi Sato to the canvas (16-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC).
It secured Battle a brutal knockout win just 44 seconds into the fight.
Watch Live UFC with ESPN on Kayo. Full Fight Night Events, PPV Prelims, Ultimate Fighter Series & More. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Tough as nails Aussie makes Dana applaud | 01:28
“Bryan Battle wants everyone to know he is for real,” Brendan Fitzgerald said in commentary.
“Stop doubting him. He was still feeling a little bit disrespected and under-the-radar in anticipation of this fight.”
Sato had not been finished with strikes since 2015 but Battle said post-fight that the head kick was something he was aiming to use, perhaps not that soon though.
“It’s crazy,” Battle said.
“It’s something that we saw, it’s something we anticipated. I didn’t see it happening quite so soon. That was probably the most beautiful strike I’ve ever thrown.”
It certainly earned Battle plenty of accolades from former UFC fighters Rashad Evans and Din Thomas, who were sitting octagon-side during the fight.
Bryan Battle made a statement.Source: FOX SPORTS
“Oh my God, that kick was absolutely amazing,” Evans said.
“The timing on it was absolutely perfect. He got Sato throwing a punch at the same time as he was throwing a punch and then followed through with a kick. It was just absolutely amazing. Just the sound of it was nasty.
“It put him right out. Bryan Battle makes a big statement.”
“He looked good from top to bottom,” Thomas added.
“Even in the beginning, he looked smooth on his feet. It sounded like he hit a watermelon with a baseball bat, it was a nasty sound to be sitting next to the octagon.”
Battle took the opportunity to call out Bryan Barberena and Ian Garry post-fight, even mistakenly taking aim at the former for spelling his name ‘Brian’.
“I’m not saying this man’s ducking me, but at the least, he’s being protected,” Battle said of Garry.
“I want you. I want all the clout. Neither one of us ranked, nothing is holding us back.”
Barberena was quick to respond on Twitter, taking a cheeky shot at Battle for the name mix-up.
The union representing Victoria Police is calling on the state government to overhaul sentencing law for serious offenses to bring punishments in line with community expectations.
Key points:
Warrnambool man Steven John Cleary, 50, was sentenced last month for attacking two police officers with a baseball bat
The Victorian Police Association and Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton say the sentence was “inadequate”
The Victorian Government says it will look at the outcome of the Warrnambool case as part of sentencing law reviews
The Office of Public Prosecutions yesterday announced it would not appeal against a sentence imposed last month for a man who viciously attacked two Warrnambool police officers.
Steven John Cleary, 50, was sentenced in the County Court to three years and two months in jail, with a non-parole period of one year and 10 months, for the brutal assault.
The Warrnambool man, who heard the court heard delusions including that he was the king of Australia and Norway, admitted to using a metal baseball bat to repeatedly strike an officer to the head while he was on the ground.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton had requested a submission be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions requesting an appeal after the “inadequate” sentence.
‘Broken’ system
Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said the case represented a “dire fault” within the legal system that needed to be addressed.
Wayne Gatt says the government must ensure sentencing is in line with community expectations. (abcnews)
“Governments hold the responsibility of making sure the outcomes from courts, that laws the courts must consider when sentencing, actually deliver the outcomes and deliver community expectations,” he said.
“If that’s not happening, it points to a system that is broken. It points to a system that requires reform.”
A Victorian Government spokesperson said in a statement work was under way to “review and modernize” Victoria’s sentencing laws.
The spokesperson said the Attorney-General had asked the Department of Justice and Community Safety to look at the outcome of the case as part of that work.
Police body-worn camera vision of the assault was shown to the court.(Supplied: County Court of Victoria)
“This work will occur in consultation with police and other emergency services in addition to victims’ groups and others,” the statement said.
Mr Gatt said it was not just an issue for police officers seriously assaulted at work, but for all victims of serious crime.
“That victim of crime could be you, it could be me, it could be anyone in our community,” he said.
“The system needs to change for all.”
Officers traumatized
Police body camera footage played to the court showed two police officers attempting to stop a 15-year-old on the street who was not wearing a mask, which was mandated at the time.
The boy contacted Cleary via walkie-talkie and he appeared moments later and rushed forward at the officers.
He continued the frenzied attack despite attempts to restrain him using a taser.
Clearly attacked the officers with a metal baseball bat covered in a nylon sheath.(Supplied: County Court of Victoria)
One of the victims, Senior Constable Rowan Baldam, told the court he thought he was going to die.
He said he and his colleague had considered leaving their dream job.
Defense lawyer Jonathan Barrera told the court Cleary had severe impaired mental functioning and experienced delusions, that were “active at the time of offending.”
Clearly you have served 300 days in custody since the attack, so you will be eligible for parole in a little more than a year.
No appeal lodged
The Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP) released a statement explaining its decision not to appeal the sentence.
“In light of all the relevant sentencing considerations, there is no reasonable prosect that the Court of Appeal would consider the sentence to be manifestly inadequate,” the statement said.
“Those sentencing considerations include the application of the Verdins principles, the utilitarian value of the plea of guilty and the absence of any prior convictions.”
Clearly had pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker on duty and intentionally causing injury.
The court heard Clearly repeatedly refused to follow police instructions.(Supplied: County Court of Victoria )
sentencing law
Sentencing is dictated by various legal principles found in the 600-page Sentencing Act and case law.
Verdins case law states mental impairment can reduce the offender’s moral culpability for the offense and affect the weight given to just punishment, denunciation and deterrence as purposes of sentencing.
It also justifies a less severe sentence where there is a serious risk of imprisonment could have a significant adverse effect on the offender’s mental health.
Clearly he was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
Judges are required to weigh up all factors including the gravity of the crime, the harm to the victims, the offender’s individual circumstances including their prior convictions and prospects of rehabilitation.
Mr Gatt said deterrence had become a “peripheral issue” when it should be a “fundamental principle” in sentencing for serious offences.
He said “any right-minded Victorian” could see Cleary’s sentence did not fit the crime, highlighting a need to change sentencing law.
“[The] advice from the OPP … represents a dire fault within our legal system, not within the OPP,” he said.
“This has to change, but it is beyond the role of the OPP to do that.
Paul Kent has urged the NRL to “stand up and show some balls” by banishing all hip-drop tackles from the game.
It comes as Broncos star Patrick Carrigan was handed a four-game suspension for his hip-drop tackle on Jackson Hastings — who will now miss the rest of the season with a fracture in his leg and a syndesmosis injury.
Stream every game of every round of the 2022 NRL Telstra Premiership Season Live & Ad-Break Free During Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
NRL 360 host Braith Anasta declared the hip-drop tackle “needs to go,” before Kent stressed it was “learned behaviour”.
Kent called on the NRL to get tough on the tackle given the trauma it’s caused Hastings.
Eels outside back Haze Dunster has also been a victim of the hip-drop tackle this year. He ruptured his ACL, PCL and MCL as a result of the tackle from Dragons forward Tyrell Fuimaono, who received a five-game ban.
“Why’s it even in the game?,” Kent asked.
“This is what gives me the sh**s. These tackles come into the game that clearly cause injuries and rather than the first coach that sees it, identifies it and says ‘you know what guys, we’re not doing this — get it out,’ they all look around the league and see other clubs doing it so say ‘we’re going to have to do it because you get an extra three seconds in the play the ball.’
“Forget about poor Jackson Hastings, who’s now got five months with his leg in a cast and now has to go through rehab. That’s the price they’re willing to pay these guys.
“The game’s got to stand up and show some balls and actually get it out of the game.
“If Carrigan gets a two-week or three-week penalty, which is what he’s going to ask for, then you just may as well throw it all away and say ‘you know what guys, do your best… take a baseball bat out’ with you next time.’
“It’s just a joke.”
Carrigan was referred straight to the judiciary for the tackle and fronted the panel on Tuesday night.
His defence, Nick Ghabar, proposed a two-game ban on Tuesday night, however the NRL counsel put forward a five-to-six game suspension.
Originally published as ‘Gives me the s***s’: TV host Paul Kent explodes over hip-drop tackles
Paul Kent has urged the NRL to “stand up and show some balls” by banishing all hip-drop tackles from the game.
It comes as Broncos star Patrick Carrigan was handed a four-game suspension for his hip-drop tackle on Jackson Hastings — who will now miss the rest of the season with a fracture in his leg and a syndesmosis injury.
Stream every game of every round of the 2022 NRL Telstra Premiership Season Live & Ad-Break Free During Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
NRL 360 host Braith Anasta declared the hip-drop tackle “needs to go,” before Kent stressed it was “learned behaviour.”
Kent then called on the NRL to get tough on the tackle given the trauma it’s caused Hastings.
Crawley FUMES at NAS decision | 03:31
Eels outside back Haze Dunster has also been a victim of the hip-drop tackle this year. He ruptured his ACL, PCL and MCL as a result of the tackle from Dragons forward Tyrell Fuimaono, who received a five-game ban.
“Why’s it even in the game?,” he asked.
“This is what gives me the sh**s. These tackles come into the game that clearly cause injuries and rather than the first coach that sees it, identifies it and says ‘you know what guys, we’re not doing this — get it out,’ they all look around the league and see other clubs doing it so say ‘we’re going to have to do it because you get an extra three seconds in the play the ball.’
MORE NRL NEWS
RUN HOME: Souths miss golden chance; Cowboys hunt unthinkable as rivals falter
DEADLINE DAY: Grading your club’s mid-season moves as frenzy shakes up title race
RESERVES WRAP: Tigers star’s big switch as beast stuns; answer to Storm’s woes
‘PREFER FOR LESS MONEY’: Sheens backs Brooks to stay at Tigers on reduced deal
O’Brien’s time at Knights running out? | 02:43
“Forget about poor Jackson Hastings, who’s now got five months with his leg in a cast and now has to go through rehab. That’s the price they’re willing to pay these guys.
“The game’s got to stand up and show some balls and actually get it out of the game.
“If Carrigan gets a two-week or three-week penalty, which is what he’s going to ask for, then you just may as well throw it all away and say ‘you know what guys, do your best… take a baseball bat out with you next time.’
“It’s just a joke.”
Carrigan was referred straight to the judiciary for the tackle and fronted the panel on Tuesday night.
His defence, Nick Ghabar, proposed a two-game ban on Tuesday night, however the NRL counsel put forward a five-to-six game suspension.
Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!
