UFC Fight Night 101's Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson know firsthand how weird the UFC can be, and how absurd the middleweight division is in particular.
Much like the WWE, fighters who aren't earmarked for success will rarely be afforded a place in the spotlight by the UFC, no matter how fights they win. A Sage Northcutt or Erick Silva will be given spots on the main card in every outing in the hope that their talent will catch up to their perceived marketability. Everyone else, though? Good luck.
Because of that, Whittaker and Brunson have both seen their talents generally wasted by the UFC.
Whittaker joined the company by winning the welterweight tournament on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes in 2012. Few were expecting much from him initially—Australia isn't a hotbed for MMA talent, and winning on The Ultimate Fighter means very little in modern MMA—but a jump to the middleweight division in 2014 saw him quickly transform into a blistering striker. Impressive win followed impressive win, but the UFC seemingly tried to hold him back by steering him away from top-10 competition at every chance until now, when he faces another unknown but skilled competitor.
Brunson's story is no different. Debuting in 2012 as a sudden call-up from Strikeforce, he kicked off his UFC career with an upset of TUF1 veteran Chris Leben at UFC 155. The promotion immediately buried him for that surprise victory, sending him from a pay-per-view main card to the Facebook prelims of a Fight Night event. Brunson hasn't been seen anywhere but cable television since then despite posting consistently impressive performances.
Both men had the opportunity to shine on Saturday night, albeit on the small stage of an overseas event, but only one man was allowed to have his hand raised at the end of the night. And at the end of the night, that man was Whittaker.
Brunson exploded out of the gate, seeking to pressure Whittaker with strikes in order to set up takedowns off the cage. Whittaker defended well, landing big uppercuts, but Brunson refused to allow him any space, chasing him relentlessly to the point where he was literally running after him.
That wild offense, however, saw him gas quickly and absorb some hard punches in scrambles. Whittaker landed another big uppercut and, just like that, he had a firm grasp on the fight's momentum. The hometown favorite pressed forward, flicking punches before clocking Brunson with a big headkick that set up a first-round TKO at 4:07.
Imagine that fight if Brunson wasn't, for unknown reasons, literally sprinting into Whitaker's punches. #UFCMelbourne
— Jonathan Snowden (@JESnowden) November 27, 2016
It was an odd performance by Brunson, who effectively dove into big strikes from Whittaker on the hope that he could easily take him down once he made it to clinch range. The American has generally been methodical in the UFC to this point, and seeing him flail his way to an ugly loss was downright difficult at times.
That said, this was impressive work from the Australian. Whittaker managed to keep himself upright against a formidable wrestler, and made the most of the opportunities he got before performing the coup de grace. While it wasn't a technically brilliant performance by either man, it showed that Whittaker has the skills and savvy to adjust to a stylistically tricky opponent.
Despite the fact that he showed major advancements during the fight and arguably jumped into the elite tier of the middleweight division, Whittaker's next step is unclear. He called for a "top-five" opponent in his post-fight interview, but he didn't name anyone specific. "I’m stoked to come out with the win, it was pretty important," he said after the fight, via a UFC release. "I train hard, I have the best coaching staff in the world...We always do the right things, I stick to the plan and we get things done. We are making huge progress and I just put the top 10 middleweight division on show.
Whether or not he gets a shot against someone like Luke Rockhold or Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza is anyone's guess. What isn't up for debate anymore, however, is whether he deserves it.
