Following the injury to Luke Rockhold and his removal from the card, this month’s UFC Fight Night 101 card will now have a brand new main event.
A middleweight division attraction between #7 Robert Whittaker and #8 Derek Brunson, originally the co-main event of the show, has now been bumped up to main event status.
Whittaker (16-4-0) will be entering the fight on a five fight winning streak, defeating Mike Rhodes, Clint Hester, Brad Tavares, Uriah Hall and Rafael Natal. Whittaker has competed in his native Australia for the fifth time out of his last sixth fights, this will also be his first main event appearance for the UFC. Whittaker was also the middleweight winner of the UFC Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, defeating Brad Scott in the finals.
Brunson (16-3-0) will also be entering the fight on a five fight winning streak, with his victories coming over Lorenz Larkin, Ed Herman, Sam Alvey, Roan Carneiro and Uriah Hall. Brunson will also be headlining his first UFC event and he last four fights have ended via first round finishes. Brunson has suffered only a single defeat under the UFC banner, with that loss coming to Yoel Romero at UFC Fight Night 35.
Ronaldo Souza, who was set to headline this event before the Rockhold injury, is expected to remain on the card to fight an opponent to be named down the line.
UFC Fight Night 101 is taking place on Saturday, November 27 from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia
