UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson

UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson (also known as UFC Fight Night 101) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 27, 2016, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.[2][3]

UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateNovember 27, 2016 (2016-11-27)
VenueRod Laver Arena
CityMelbourne, Australia
Attendance13,721[1]
Total gate2,200,000 AUD[1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Nogueira 2 UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale

Background

This event was the second that the organization hosted in Melbourne, with the first being UFC 193 in November 2015.[2]

The event was expected to be headlined by a middleweight rematch between former Strikeforce and UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold and former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo Souza.[2][3] The duo first met in September 2011 at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, in which Rockhold won a unanimous decision to capture Souza's title.[4] However, on November 1, Rockhold was ruled out of the contest due to a sprained ACL. Subsequently, Souza was removed from the card entirely and is expected to be rescheduled for another event.[5] In turn, a middleweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes welterweight winner Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson was elevated to serve as the event headliner.[6]

Rod Laver Arena is widely known as the venue which hosts the annual Australian Open in tennis.

As a result of the cancellation of UFC Fight Night: Lamas vs. Penn, bouts between Yao Zhikui vs. Jenel Lausa and Seo Hee Ham vs. Danielle Taylor were rescheduled for this event.[7][8]

On October 21, it was announced that Dominique Steele pulled out of his scheduled bout against Kyle Noke due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Omari Akhmedov.[9]

The Ultimate Fighter: China featherweight winner Ning Guangyou was expected to face Marlon Vera at UFC 202. However, due to an out-of-competition failed test and following investigation concluding Ning ingested the substance without fault or negligence, the bout was moved to UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit.[10] In turn, the bout was postponed again due to alleged visa issues for Ning, which restricted the timing of his travel.[11] The fight was later rescheduled for this event.[12]

Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Middleweight Robert Whittaker def. Derek Brunson TKO (head kick and punches) 1 4:07
Lightweight Andrew Holbrook def. Jake Matthews Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) 3 5:00
Welterweight Omari Akhmedov def. Kyle Noke Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) 3 5:00
Lightweight Alexander Volkanovski def Yusuke Kasuya TKO (punches) 2 2:06
Light Heavyweight Tyson Pedro def. Khalil Rountree Jr. Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 4:07
Women's Strawweight Danielle Taylor def. Seo Hee Ham Decision (split) (28–29, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Middleweight Dan Kelly def. Chris Camozzi Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Lightweight Damien Brown def. Jon Tuck Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Welterweight Jonathan Meunier def. Richard Walsh Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Flyweight Ben Nguyen def. Geane Herrera Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–26, 30–27) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Featherweight Jason Knight def. Dan Hooker Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–26) 3 5:00
Featherweight Marlon Vera def. Ning Guangyou Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Flyweight Jenel Lausa def. Yao Zhikui Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00

    [13]

    Bonus awards

    The following fighters were awarded $60,000 bonuses:[14]

    • Fight of the Night: Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson
    • Performance of the Night: Robert Whittaker and Tyson Pedro

    See also

    References
    1. Staff (2016-11-27). "UFC Fight Night 101 draws announced sell-out of 13,721 for $2.2 million AUD live gate". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
    2. Staff (2016-09-11). "Luke Rockhold and 'Jacare' Souza set to rematch at UFC Fight Night 101". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
    3. Thomas Gerbasi (2016-09-11). "Rockhold-Souza II headlines "Down Under" in November". ufc.com. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
    4. Jesse Holland (2013-04-28). "History in the making: Luke Rockhold upsets 'Jacare' Souza to win Strikeforce middleweight title". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
    5. Ariel Helwani (2016-11-01). "Luke Rockhold vs. Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza rematch canceled". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
    6. Danny Segura (2016-11-02). "Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson promoted to main event of UFC Fight Night 101 in Australia". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
    7. Anton Tabuena (2016-10-12). "UFC Manila's Lausa vs Zhikui re-booked for UFN: Rockhold vs Jacare 2". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
    8. John Hyon Ko (2016-10-14). "Seo-Hee Ham vs Danielle Taylor shifted to UFC Fight Night 101 in Melbourne". thefightnation.com. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
    9. Mark Gottlieb (2016-10-23). "Dom Steele pulls out of Melbourne fight against Kyle Noke, replaced by Omari "Wolverine" Akhmedov". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
    10. Marc Raimondi (2016-08-09). "UFC's Ning Guangyou fails drug test for clenbuterol, USADA finds no fault". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
    11. Thomas Gerbasi (2016-08-22). "Guangyou-Vera bout off Vancouver card". ufc.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
    12. ATSteveDuncan (2016-10-13). "Chito Vera enfrentará a Ning Guangyou en UFC Fight Night 101". mma.uno. Retrieved 2016-11-15. (in Spanish)
    13. "UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
    14. Staff (2016-11-27). "UFC Fight Night 101 bonuses: Robert Whittaker is walking away with an extra $190,000". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
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