The UFC career of a shattered Shannon Ross hangs in the balance after “Turkish Delight” suffered his third consecutive stoppage loss in Las Vegas.
A bloodied Ross was beaten into defeat in the second round by Hyun Sung Park and the former mechanic is now winless in his past four fights.
It was the start of a grim day for Australian MMA.
Jamie Mullarkey was later being knocked out by Nasrat Haqparast in the first round on the same card.
Ross still has one fight remaining on his contract but knew going into the scrap that he desperately needed a win after back-to-back first-round knockouts in his two fights in the UFC.
“I’ve got one left on my contract but we know how the industry rolls,” Ross said. “You don’t see too many guys around here with three straight losses.
Ross started fast but despite landing early on, Park was bigger and connected with the more telling shots.
He was hit with a low blow early but continued, before Park floored Ross with a left hand.
The South Korean clamped in a body lock and searched for a rear naked choke.
The Queenslander did well to fight it off for more than two minutes to hear the bell for the end of the round.
Ross was rattled by a left hook early in the second round but he showed his phenomenal resilience to fight back and even land some nice right hands.
A kick to the body with 70 seconds remaining in the second round was the beginning of the end for the Aussie.
Ross crumbled to the mat as Park hammered in more body shots, before referee Keith Peterson waved the fight off.
Just hours later, Mullarkey was left bloodied and bruised following an opening-round barrage from Haqparast.
The Central Coast lightweight was dropped by a big left hand after just 90 seconds.
He somehow managed to get back to his feet despite taking serious punishment but wasn’t able to escape the situation.
The result leaves Mullarkey with a 2-2 record this year following decision wins in Perth and Sydney.
There was better news for Auckland-based French fighter Kevin “Air” Jousset, who won a clinical decision over Song Kenan to move to 2-0.
Jousset trains alongside Israel Adesanya at City Kickboxing in New Zealand.
After starting out in judo in France and England, Jousset picked up MMA in Melbourne and earnt his spot in the UFC when he shifted to CKB.
Jousset burst on to the scene with a first-round submission win at UFC 293 in Sydney in September.
In the very first fight on the card, Jousset walked to the Octagon before 9am and choked out Ireland’s Kiefer Crosbie with 11 seconds left in the first round.
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