Te Huna battled against up and coming prospect Alexander Gustafsson on the evening’s preliminary portion of the card, which aired live on Ion Television. He was impressive in the early goings, having taken down the lanky Gustafsson early, working into side control, however Alexander was eventually able to get back to his feet, take James down, take the back-mount and sink in the fight ending rear-naked choke.

Despite the loss, it didn’t deter Te Huna from going above and beyond and donating his entire fight purse in an effort to better accommodate the lives of others effected by the tragedy that hit close to home for the Aussie.

Marshall Zelaznik, the UFC’s managing director of international development, spoke with the press post-UFC 127 to confirm that “Jamie Te Huna donated his fight purse”.

A tropical cyclone is the cause of the recent tragedies in the land down under, where a reported $800 million in damages has since been recorded, with more and more damages mounting.

The UFC has opted to match Te Huna’s purse and will now be holding an auction to help alleviate those effected, and according to Zelaznik, the organization hopes to have brought in $30k up to this point.

A $10k bid has since been closed on ufc.thegivingbridge.com which is to help aid in the relief fund.

To donate, visit the link above. Bidding closes in two days.

Fighters.com profiled the top prospect Down Under after he knocked out two-time UFC fighter “Hippo” Anthony Perosh (6-4) in 2:21 to win the Cage Fighting Championship’s Light Heavyweight Grand Prix at CFC 10 in Sydney August 21.

Te Huna was actually signed by PRIDE in 2007, shortly before the organization was bought by the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, LLC. Te Huna never got the opportunity to fight for PRIDE and his contract wasn’t picked up by the UFC after buyout.

Pokrajac lost a  three-round unanimous decision to “Janitor” Vladimir Matyushenko (23-4) at UFC 103 in Dallas September 19.

“I had my first dislocation in my very first MMA bout,” Te Huna told Fighters.com.  “For five years I copped numerous dislocations in training and fights. I managed to get through it all, but it got to a point where my training would suffer as well as my fights.  So, I had one of the best shoulder surgeons in Oz fix it up after the [Hector Lombard] fight.  Best thing I’ve done, and have had six straight wins with five of those by TKO.”

Te Huna is rumored to face Team Cro Cop light heavyweight Igor Pokrajac (14-6) at UFC 110.  Pokrajac lost a  three-round unanimous decision to “Janitor” Vladimir Matyushenko (23-4) at UFC 103 in Dallas September 19.

Fighters.com profiled the top prospect Down Under after he knocked out two-time UFC fighter “Hippo” Anthony Perosh (6-4) in 2:21 to win the Cage Fighting Championship’s Light Heavyweight Grand Prix at CFC 10 in Sydney August 21.

Fighters.com profiled the top prospect Down Under after he knocked out two-time UFC fighter “Hippo” Anthony Perosh (6-4) in 2:21 to win the Cage Fighting Championship’s Light Heavyweight Grand Prix at CFC 10 in Sydney August 21.

For Te Huna, it was an arrival on the international MMA scene, and his biggest win to date.

The Mark Hunt (5-6)-trained Te Huna has never lacked the heart of a champion. In a 2006 fight versus Takahiro Oba (4-5) at X-plosion in Sydney, Te Huna’s right arm went stiff and motionless while on his back with Oba dropping bombs above him. The referee stepped-in to pause the fight and discovered Te Huna’s shoulder had popped out of socket. In Te Huna’s corner, Hunt pressed Te Huna’s forearm beneath his arm pit and yanked the arm back into socket. Te Huna popped his mouthguard back into his mouth and won a decision over Oba.

But, heart doesn’t win the big ones. Te Huna had come up short in his two previous steps-up in competition. At King of the Cage in Australia in 2006, Te Huna was tapped in a rear naked choke in 1:37 by eventual PRIDE and UFC fighter James Lee (14-5). At Warriors Realm 8 in Australia the following year, arguably the top prospect fighting in Australia, “Shango” Hector Lombard (20-2-1), submitted Te Huna.

Fighters.com had predicted the UFC would sign Te Huna after his victory over Perosh.  On a side note, Te Huna was actually signed by PRIDE in 2007, shortly before the organization was bought by the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, LLC. Te Huna never got the opportunity to fight for PRIDE and his contract wasn’t picked up by the UFC after buyout.

For Te Huna, it was an arrival on the international MMA scene, and his biggest win to date.

The Mark Hunt (5-6)-trained Te Huna has never lacked the heart of a champion. In a 2006 fight versus Takahiro Oba (4-5) at X-plosion in Sydney, Te Huna’s right arm went stiff and motionless while on his back with Oba dropping bombs above him. The referee stepped-in to pause the fight and discovered Te Huna’s shoulder had popped out of socket. In Te Huna’s corner, Hunt pressed Te Huna’s forearm beneath his arm pit and yanked the arm back into socket. Te Huna popped his mouthguard back into his mouth and won a decision over Oba.

But, heart doesn’t win the big ones. Te Huna had come up short in his two previous steps-up in competition. At King of the Cage in Australia in 2006, Te Huna was tapped in a rear naked choke in 1:37 by eventual PRIDE and UFC fighter James Lee (14-5). At Warriors Realm 8 in Australia the following year, arguably the top prospect fighting in Australia, “Shango” Hector Lombard (20-2-1), submitted Te Huna.

Though a loser in his two UFC fights, the Carlos Machado-trained grappler, Perosh, was taking the fight versus Te Huna serious enough to spend two weeks training at Greg Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts in Albuquerque and a week at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, arguably the two best MMA camps in the world. (Arguably, I said. Don’t email about the other outstanding camps. I know them already.)

Perosh had predicted, “I will take him down, ground-and-pound him, and then choke him out!”

Te Huna had been training with Muay Thai champs Steve and Stuart McKinnon, Gracie Barra BJJ blackbelt “Galeb” Fabio Fernandes (2-1), Olympic wrestler Igor Praporshikov, and Craig Catterick, strength and conditioning coach to former WBA light heavyweight world boxing champ Danny Green.

The significance of the knockout of Perosh is Te Huna’s continued improvement in skill, now matched with the heart that pushed him to victory despite dislocating his arm. The UFC is keen on moving into the Land Down Under, recently contracting an Aussie PR firm. No doubt UFC matchmaker Joe Silva will be watching tapes of Te Huna in his Las Vegas office this week.

On a side note, Te Huna was actually signed by PRIDE in 2007, shortly before the organization was bought by the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, LLC. Te Huna never got the opportunity to fight for PRIDE and his contract wasn’t picked up by the UFC after buyout.