''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 ...

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

, 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)

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 ...

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

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

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References