10 memorable moments from UFC Fight Night 101 – some bloody, some funny

By the time UFC Fight Night 101’s main event rolled around, fans had watched 10 of 12 fights go the distance. Early in that middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson, it became clear that neither man had any interest in being the 11th duo to go to the scorecards.

Brunson was wildly aggressive and threw power punches while offering very little in the way of defense. Charging blindly at Whittaker, Brunson caught a left hook that staggered him. He did his best to get his legs back under him, but it was clear he was still wobbly. And when Whittaker landed another left and followed up with a head kick and more lefts, referee Herb Dean was forced to wave off the fight before the end of Round 1.

Whittaker’s TKO win ended Brunson’s streak of four consecutive first-round knockouts, but more importantly, the victory established him as a legitimate player in the middleweight division heading into 2017.

Here’s a look back at the most memorable moments from UFC Fight Night 101, which aired on FS1 from Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

1. Big loss, big gain

Brunson’s aggression caught up with him in a big way in Melbourne, something Brunson (16-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) acknowledged after Whittaker (17-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) stopped him at the 4:07 mark of Round 1.

“It really sucks,” Brunson told MMAjunkie. “I put together a streak and worked really hard. But I came out here and fought with no game plan, like a chump tonight. I’ll take it on the chin. I’m better than I showed.”

That brutal self-assessment was right on the mark.

With the win, which gave him the rare double fight-night bonus, Whittaker is now 5-0 at middleweight, unbeaten in his past six and looking at a high-stakes fight for his next matchup.

2. The future looks bright

On Oct. 8, UFC champ Michael Bisping defended his middleweight title by defeating Dan Henderson via unanimous decision. Since then the division has been busy, with most of the top fighters competing. Now, with Whittaker’s victory, UFC matchmakers can begin to plan for 2017.

After his win, Whittaker, who entered UFC Fight Night 101 in the No. 11 spot in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings said he’d be willing to face No. 7 ranked Gegard Mousasi.

Another fight that could be made is the one that was the original UFC Fight Night 101 main event: No. 3 ranked Luke Rockhold vs. No. 4 ranked Ronaldo Souza. That fight was scrapped due to a Rockhold injury.

As for Bisping, it seems as if he’s going to be matched up against No. 2-ranked Yoel Romero.

Barring any unforeseen hiccups, 2017 looks like a very exciting year atop the middleweight division.

3. Might be time for a move

Looking at the pre-fight odds, it seemed the UFC booked Andrew Holbrook (+400) against Jake Matthews (-550) in the hopes of getting Matthews back on track after his July TKO loss to Kevin Lee.

In the end, though, Holbrook (12-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) took the split-decision win, which gave Matthews (10-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) the first two-fight losing skid of his career.

With his loss, speculation will begin that Matthews needs to move from training with his father to working with a larger camp where multiple coaches and training partners can help harness his raw talent.

4. Ready to drop

Heading into his UFC debut against Yusuke Kasuya (9-3-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC), Alex Volkanovski (14-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was touted as a heavy-handed striker. Volkanovski lived up to that billing and ended the fight at the 2:06 mark of the second round via accurate ground strikes.

After the lightweight contest, the 5-foot-6 Volkanovski announced he would like to fight as light as bantamweight while adding that he has fought as heavy as middleweight.

Now, about that “Whoomp! (There it is)” chant after the fight…

5. Questions remain

Khalil Rountree dropped Tyson Pedro with a thundering left hand early in the first round of their light-heavyweight bout. After that strike, Rountree (4-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) didn’t have much to offer Pedro (5-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who ended the fight late in the first round with a rear-naked choke.

The win – Pedro’s first in the UFC – extended his overall unbeaten streak to five, with each win coming by first-round stoppage.

As for Rountree, those who were looking to see if he had shored up his weaknesses since his July loss to Andrew Sanchez found no answer to that question.

6. Well, he is someone’s dad

As Daniel Kelly approached the octagon, UFC commentator Jon Anik said, “He looks like your dad. He doesn’t fight like your dad, that’s for sure.”

Chris Camozzi was the fifth UFC middleweight to learn that lesson after dropping a unanimous decision to Kelly – despite opening a huge gash on his opponent’s head with a well-placed elbow late in the first round that wowed the broadcasters.

Kelly (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) might not look like the baddest dude in the gym, but he’s going to be in your face for the entire fight, and as Camozzi (24-12 MMA, 9-9 UFC) learned, he might just bleed all over you in the process.

7. Back on the map

Geane Herrera opened his flyweight fight against Ben Nguyen with a flying side kick. After that, Nguyen took control of the contest.

Nguyen’s striking overwhelmed Herrera (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC), who had no answer for the crisp combinations and volume that Nguyen (15-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) threw at him over the course of three rounds.

The unanimous-decision victory was a big one for Nguyen and put him back in the win column following a loss to Louis Smolka in July. It’s also possibly setting him up for a top-15 opponent in his next bout.

8. A lot to like

It’s hard to know how high Jason Knight’s upside is, but judging from how well he took instruction from his corner during his featherweight fight against Dan Hooker, that upside could be considerable.

Knight (15-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Hooker (13-7 MMA, 3-3 UFC) fought early on the UFC Fight Night 101 card, before the full sellout crowd of 13,721 arrived, which allowed the cage microphones to clearly pick up Knight’s cornermen. Each time they shouted a suggestion to their fighter, Knight attempted to implement that instruction, which showed a willingness to trust his coaches.

Outside of that, Knight, who defeated Hooker via unanimous decision, is a fun fighter to watch. He’s aggressive and tough, the kind of fighter UFC brass and the “just-scrap” crowd love to see compete.

9. New guy looked good

The flyweight division has some new blood in Jenel Lausa, who won his UFC debut and earned a unanimous decision over Yao Zhikui.

Lausa (7-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) showed a good mixture of power, speed and accuracy in his striking, which put Zhikui (2-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) to the mat on two occasions.

The win extended Lausa’s unbeaten streak to five fights, and with the showing he had in Melbourne, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the UFC give Lausa a stiff test in his next matchup.

10. Random observations

Calling it a career

After his unanimous-decision loss to Omari Akhmedov (16-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC), Kyle Noke (22-10-1 MMA, 6-6 UFC) announced his retirement.

My bad

With 97 seconds left in the first round of his fight against Kasuya, Volkanovski briefly laced his fingers through the cage. The foul brought a rebuke from referee Greg Kleynjans. Volkanovski immediately replied, “Sorry, mate” before he was swept into a leg-lock attempt by Kasuya.

Be prepared

Remember when Mike Tyson’s corner used a rubber glove filled with ice to reduce the swelling around the boxer’s eye during his fight against Buster Douglas? Well, Herrera’s corner wasn’t even that prepared to deal with the swelling under their fighter’s eye at the end of Round 1. Herrera, sitting on his stool, asked his corner, “Do you got anything to press my eye?” His cornerman responded by holding a water bottle to Herrara’s swelling left eye for about five seconds.

Sign that man to a record deal

Color commentator Dan Hardy said of the gravel-voiced cornermen of Knight: “If Jason Knight’s corner team is not the lead singer of a death metal band, it’s a waste of talent.”

Show of respect

Knight paid tribute to the retired Dan Henderson by walking out to Toby Keith’s “Made in America.”

“I just want to say, to the real champ Dan Henderson, I walked out with that flag and I walked out to that song for you, baby.” he said. “You’re the man, Dan.”

Like a shark

Marlon Vera’s post-fight interview with Anik went off the rails a little bit after his decision win over Ning Guangyou (5-4-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) when Vera (8-3-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) said, “I’m like a (expletive) shark. When I smell blood, I will eat the (expletive) out of you.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 101, check out the UFC Events section of the site.