MELBOURNE, Australia – Robert Whittaker survived a wild and reckless attack from Derek Brunson to win a comeback knockout.
Chasing down a finish, Brunson (16-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) ran straight into a left hand and took a head-kick to bring Whittaker (17-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) a huge victory for his run in the middleweight division.
The middleweight bout was the main event of today’s UFC Fight Night 101 event at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It aired on FS1 following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Referee Herb Dean stepped in to save a downed Brunson at the 4:07 mark of the third after Whittaker sent him to the mat. Brunson was a slight favorite heading into the bout.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 101 results include:
- Rpbert Whittaker def. Derek Brunson via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:07
- Andrew Holbrook def. Jake Matthews via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Omari Akhmedov def. Kyle Noke via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Alex Volkanovski def. Yusuke Kasuya via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:06
- Tyson Pedro def. Khalil Rountree via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:07
- Danielle Taylor def. Seo Hee Ham via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
- Daniel Kelly def. Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
- Damien Brown def. Jon Tuck via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Jonathan Meunier def. Richard Walsh via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ben Nguyen def. Geane Herrera via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
- Jason Knight def. Dan Hooker via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26)
- Marlon Vera def. Ning Guangyou via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jenel Lausa def. Yao Zhikui via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 101, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Melbourne.)