UFC middleweight contender Robert Whittaker speaks to media during the Ultimate Media Day on March 18, 2016 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo : Getty Images/Matt Roberts)
The match card for UFC Fight Night 101 in Melbourne, Australia is finally complete with just several days before the event. The card has 13 fights overall and it is headlined by the middleweight fight between contenders Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson.
Whittaker (17-4) is currently ranked as the No. 7 middleweight in the world is going up against Brunson (16-3), who is No. 8 in the rankings. "The Reaper" is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes in 2012 and he has a message against his opponent.
"I'm going to pick him apart. My striking is crisp, and it's unorthodox. It's hard to read. You can practice all you want against someone, but my hands come from everywhere, and I hit hard. People are going to need to realize I do hit hard. I don't think he's going to like being hit, and I think he's going to quit," Whittaker told MMA Junkie in an interview.
The co-main event is going to be hometown hero Jake Matthews (11-2) taking on Andrew Holbrook (11-1) of the United States. A total of six fighters - Matthews, Kyle Noke, Alexander Volkanovski, Daniel Kelly, Damien Brown and Rich Walsh - will have home field advantage.
UFC Fight Night 101 is the first event in Australia since March 20 when Mark Hunt faced off against Frank Mir in Brisbane. It has a total of 13 fights and the official card is courtesy of UFC.com.
UFC Fight Night 101 Main Card to be shown on FS1 (10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT)
- Middleweight: Robert "The Reaper" Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson
- Lightweight: Jake "The Celtic Kid" Matthews vs. Andrew Holbrook
- Welterweight: Kyle Noke vs. Omari "Wolverine" Akhmedov
- Lightweight: Yusuke Kasuya vs. Alexander "The Great" Volkanovski
- Light Heavyweight: Khalil Rountree vs. Tyson Pedro
- Women's Strawweight: Seo Hee Ham vs. Danielle "Dynamite" Taylor
UFC Fight Night 101 Preliminary Card to be shown on FS1 (8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT)
- Middleweight: Daniel Kelly vs. Chris Camozzi
- Lightweight: Damien "Beatdown" Brown vs. Jon "The Super Saiyan" Tuck
- Welterweight: Rich "Filthy" Walsh vs. Jonathan "The French Spider" Meunier
- Flyweight: Ben "10" Nguyen vs. Geane Herrera
UFC Fight Night 101 Early Preliminary Card to be shown on UFC Fight Pass (6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT)
- Featherweight: Dan "The Hangman" Hooker vs. Jason "The Kid" Knight
- Bantamweight: Marlon "Chico" Vera vs. Ning Guangyou
- Flyweight: Yao "The Conqueror" Zhikui vs. Jenel "The Demolition Man" Lausa
Check out the video below for the full pre-fight interview with Whittaker.
