Noke was defeated by the powerful Omari Akhmedov at in a weltereight contest at UFC Melbourne, losing in a unanimous points decision at Rod Laver arena.

The 31-year-old’s record now stands at 10 wins from 23 fights.

Akhmedov, of Russia, had the ascendancy for much of the bout but Nokle had his moments, namely at the start of the second round where he landed a body kick before just grazing his opponent with a head kick that would surely have done damage if it had connected.

Noke had to chase the fight in the final round but Akhmedov wouldn’t let him have it and the Russian produced a takedown late on and controlled the final moments.

In the end the decision was a unanimous one, with the judges handing Akhmedov a 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 victory.

It hadn’t been an ideal buildup again for Noke after his original opponent, Dominique Steele, pulled out and he was forced to fight someone he trained with for a long time.

“When my original opponent pulled out of the fight due to injury and Omari was put forward we were both hesitant but we spoke to each other about it, agreed to go in and give it our best, and when it’s all said and done we’ll still be friends,” Noke told the Daily Liberal last week.

In the main event, Aussie Robert Whittaker produced a stunning first round knockout to defeat Derek Brunson.