''UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 101'') was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
event produced by the
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
held on November 27, 2016, at
Rod Laver Arena
Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year.
History
Replacing ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Background
This event was the second that the organization hosted in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, with the first being
UFC 193
''UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm'' was a mixed martial arts event held on 14 November 2015, at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the most attended UFC event in the history of the company at the time, with 56,214 people filling th ...
in November 2015.
The event was expected to be headlined by a middleweight rematch between former
Strikeforce
Strike Force may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game
*'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game
*'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game
*''Marvel Strike Force'', ...
and
UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold
Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight division. ...
and former
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo Souza
Ronaldo Souza dos Santos (born December 7, 1979), nicknamed " Jacare" (), is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist and submission grappler who competed for UFC from 2013 to 2021. A highly regarded grappler on the worl ...
.
The duo first met in September 2011 at
Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, in which Rockhold won a unanimous decision to capture Souza's title. 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. In turn, a middleweight bout between
The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes welterweight winner
Robert Whittaker and
Derek Brunson
Derek Brunson (born January 4, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of September 5, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC middleweight ran ...
was elevated to serve as the event headliner.
![Rod Laver Arena (8985219166)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Rod_Laver_Arena_%288985219166%29.jpg)
As a result of the cancellation of
UFC Fight Night: Lamas vs. Penn, bouts between
Yao Zhikui
Yao Zhikui (born February 7, 1991) was a Chinese mixed martial artist who competed as a Flyweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
Originally Henan Province of Central China, Yao competed in wrestling and trained in Sanda befo ...
vs.
Jenel Lausa
Jenel Lausa (born August 1, 1988) is a Filipino professional boxer and a mixed martial artist who was known to have competed in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Mixed martial arts career
Lausa made his professional ...
and
Seo Hee Ham
Seo Hee Ham ( ko, 함서희 ; born ), written Ham Seo-Hee in Korean order, is a South Korean professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. She is currently signed to ONE Championship, where she is ranked #2 in the ONE Championship Women's Ato ...
vs.
Danielle Taylor were rescheduled for this event.
On October 21, it was announced that
Dominique Steele
Dominique Steele (born January 25, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has also competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Fight Ni ...
pulled out of his scheduled bout against
Kyle Noke
Kyle Noke (born 18 March 1980) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who competed as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Noke has also fought for EliteXC.
Background
Noke, origina ...
due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by
Omari Akhmedov
Omari Akhmedov (born October 12, 1987) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Ba ...
.
The Ultimate Fighter: China featherweight winner
Ning Guangyou
Ning Guangyou () (born December 15, 1981), is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division. He won his contract through an 8-man tournament on '' The Ultimate Fighter: China''.
Mixed martial arts career
Early profess ...
was expected to face
Marlon Vera
Marlon Andres Vera Delgado (born December 2, 1992) is an Ecuadorian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Vera first appeared on '' The Ultimate Fight ...
at
UFC 202
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
. 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. In turn, the bout was postponed again due to alleged
visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
issues for Ning, which restricted the timing of his travel. The fight was later rescheduled for this event.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded $60,000 bonuses:
*Fight of the Night: Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson
*Performance of the Night: Robert Whittaker and Tyson Pedro
See also
*
2016 in UFC
*
List of UFC events
*
Mixed martial arts in Australia
Mixed martial arts (MMA) has developed in Australia from a wide cross-section of sporting and martial arts disciplines to become the most popular combat sport in Australia.
History
The influence traditional martial arts, Olympic wrestling and B ...
References
{{UFC Events
UFC Fight Night
2016 in mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts in Australia
Sports competitions in Melbourne
2016 in Australian sport
November 2016 sports events in Australia