UFC Fight Night 101 pre-fight facts: Derek Brunson can make history with another first-round KO

The UFC’s seven-week stretch of live events continues on Saturday when UFC Fight Night 101 takes place at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, with an FS1-televised fight card that follows early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

A crucial middleweight matchup tops the event. Derek Brunson (16-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC), the No. 6 fighter in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, looks to extend his winning streak to six fights and inch closer to toward a title shot against No. 11-ranked Robert Whittaker (16-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC), who also brings a run of five-straight wins into the event.

The organization’s 10th venture into Australia features a little more than just an important headliner, though. For more, check out 30 pre-fight facts about UFC Fight Night 101.

* * * *

Main event

Whittaker is 4-0 since he moved up to the UFC middleweight division in November 2014.

Whittaker’s four-fight UFC winning streak in middleweight competition is tied for the fifth longest active streak in the division behind Yoel Romero (eight), Michael Bisping (five), Krzysztof Jotko (five) and Brunson (five).

Whittaker has earned 12 of his 16 career victories by stoppage.

Whittaker defends 93.1 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC competition, the fourth highest rate in company history behind Renan Barao (100 percent), Tyron Woodley (95.2 percent) and Jon Jones (94.6 percent).

Brunson’s five-fight UFC winning streak in middleweight competition is tied with Bisping and Jotko for the second longest active streak in the division behind Romero (eight).

Brunson is 7-1 in his past eight fights after a 2-3 stretch from 2012-2014.

Brunson’s four-fight knockout streak is tied with Mairbek Taisumov and Stipe Miocic for the longest among active UFC fighters.

Brunson’s four-fight first-round-knockout streak is the longest among active UFC fighters.

Brunson’s four-fight first-round-knockout streak is tied with Shane Carwin for the longest in modern UFC history.

Brunson’s four-fight first-round-knockout streak is tied with Carwin for the second longest in UFC history behind Don Frye (six).

Brunson is one of five fighters in modern UFC history to register both a knockout and submission victory in less than one minute each. Ronda Rousey, Joe Lauzon, Tom Lawlor and Andrei Arlovski also accomplished the feat.

Remaining main card

Jake Matthews

Jake Matthews (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC), 22, is the youngest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Matthews has earned all four of his UFC victories by stoppage.

Matthews’ four stoppage victories since 2014 in UFC lightweight competition are tied with Taisumov, Donald Cerrone and Beneil Dariush for second most among active fighters in the division behind Tony Ferguson (five).

Andrew Holbrook (11-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned 10 of his 11 career victories by stoppage. He’s registered all but one of those finishes in Round 1.

Kyle Noke

Kyle Noke (22-9-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) is 3-3 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in September 2012.

Noke has earned five of his six UFC victories by stoppage.

Omari Akhmedov (14-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is 2-3 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in May 2014.

Akhmedov has suffered all four of his career losses by stoppage.

Yusuke Kasuya (9-2-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Sept. 26, 2015. The 427-day layoff is the longest of his nearly six-year career.

Seo Hee Ham (16-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has earned 14 of her 16 career victories by decision.

Preliminary card

Daniel Kelly

Daniel Kelly (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), 39, is the oldest of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Kelly defends 68.6 percent of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC middleweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Chris Camozzi (22-11 MMA, 9-8 UFC) is 3-2 since he returned to the UFC for a third stint in April 2015.

Camozzi is one of 14 fighters to suffer four or more submission losses in UFC competition. Melvin Guillard holds the company record for most submission losses with six.

Camozzi has landed 184 leg kicks in UFC middleweight competition, second most in divisional history behind Bisping (191).

Camozzi’s 26-second knockout of Joe Riggs at UFC Fight Night 83 stands as the second fastest finish in UFC history stemming from knee strikes behind Mark Kerr’s 17-second victory at UFC 15.

Jon Tuck (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his six-fight UFC career.

Richard Walsh (9-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) outlands his opponents at a +2.30 strike differential rate in UFC welterweight competition, the second highest margin in divisional history behind Georges St-Pierre (+2.39).

Dan Hooker (13-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has earned 12 of his 13 career victories by stoppage. He’s registered nine of those finishes in Round 1.

Yao Zhikui (2-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his five-fight career.

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

FightMetric research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.