Who were the winners at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Brunson? Click below to get the results for all the fights at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday, November 26, 2016.
Whittaker vs Brunson | Matthews vs Holbrook | Noke vs Akhmedov | Kasuya vs Volkanovski | Rountree vs Pedro | Ham vs Taylor | Kelly vs Camozzi | Brown vs Tuck | Walsh vs Meunier | Nguyen vs Herrera | Hooker vs Knight | Vera vs Guangyou | Zhikui vs Lausa
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Brunson main card
Main event: Robert Whittaker defeats Derek Brunson
In one of the craziest rounds of the year inside the Octagon, Robert Whittaker emerged as the victor after surviving an early blitz from Derek Brunson and finishing by TKO with an aggressive storm of strikes at 4:07 of the first round. Whittaker landed a counter left hook backing up toward the fence against a charging Brunson. Then he followed that up with a left head kick as Brunson was obviously rocked. A series of uppercuts were the beginning of the end and Whittaker finished from top position with strikes. Whittaker landed 33 significant strikes and Brunson was able to connect on 19. Whittaker stuffedthree takedown attempts by Brunson.
They said it:
Robert Whittaker : “I’m stoked to come out with the win, it was pretty important. I train hard, I have the best coaching staff in the world, win or lose, they are always going to be there. 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."
Co-main: Andrew Holbrook defeats Jake Matthews
Andrew Holbrook played the role of spoiler in the co-main event, upsetting Australia’s own Jake Matthews by winning a split decision, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. Matthews had his moments in the fight but it was mostly Holbrook who controlled the grappling exchanges and dictates where the fight was fought. Matthews landed three takedowns to just two for Holbrook, but the latter was able to attempt three submission attempts to none for Matthews. Holbrook landed 57 perfect of his significant strikes (30 total) to just a 35 percent clip (22 total) for Matthews. .
They said it:
Andrew Holbrook : “I was a huge underdog in this fight. It’s great to come in and get the win. As I said before, you shouldn’t have to worry about coming in to someone else’s home town. You have to fight the fight no matter what. It worked out really well for me, I executed what I planned with my team, putting pressure on him."
Omari Akhmedov defeats Kyle Noke
Omari Akhmedov landed a big blow in the first round that immediately made Kyle Noke’s left eye puff up and the rest was a done deal. Akhmedov won a unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27. “The Wolverine” landed three takedowns and controlled Noke for 6:35 of the 15 minutes and out-struck the hometown boy Noke, 57-44.
They said it:
Omari Akhmedov : “I am happy that I won this fight but I also feel sad as Kyle is my friend. We have trained together in the past. I am now going to get back into the gym, prepare and wait for my next opponent."
Alex Volkanovski defeats Yusuke Kasuya
Alexander Volkanovski showed off his devastating ground and pound as he finished Yusuke Kasuya by TKO at 2:06 of the second round. Volkanovski improves to 14-1 and gets the win in his UFC debut. The 28-year-old lightweight throws titanic bombs from top position on the mat and Kasuya felt the power. Volkanovski landed a staggering 76 percent of the significant strikes he threw for a battering total of 53 in just over seven minutes of work.
They said it:
Alex Volkanovski : “I wanted to get a KO, I am always looking for the finish. I really wanted to make a statement, I want people to know I don’t just lay on top. I always look for the finish no matter where I go and I think I showed that. Even in positions where most people hang on, I don’t hang on, I look for those big strikes and it sort of went that way but again I wanted to get the KO. I felt a bit stronger than him so I played it safe."
Tyson Pedro defeats Khalil Rountree
Tyson Pedro tasted the power of Khalil Rountree when he was knocked to the canvas early in the first round, but the UFC debutant stayed composed and was able to survive. When Pedro got back to his feet he was able to get Roundtree to the mat and then it didn’t take long for Pedro to submit Rountree by rear naked choke at 4:07 of the round.
They said it:
Tyson Pedro : “Awesome to get a win after three weeks notice, I am pumped. So happy. I was going to try and stand with him but then my game plan went out the window when I messed up my foot work. But then I came back and I did what I love to do and I made him pay for it with my jiu-jitsu."
Khalil Rountree: “I came in here as prepared as I could be. I went out there, I felt great, my mind was clear, I had my intentions set on what I wanted to do. I was prepared for certain things but I think Tyson was strong and he did what he was supposed to do. Overall I am thankful. Another day in the UFC and another opportunity that I took, I feel very blessed."
Danielle Taylor defeats Seohee Ham
Danielle Taylor outworked Seohee Ham to take home the split decision victory, 28-29, 30-27, 30-27, to open the main card in Melbourne. Taylor landed 45 total strikes to just 32 from Ham. Taylor improves to 8-2 and picks up her first UFC win.
They said it:
Danielle Taylor : “That was perfect game planning. I knew I could go in to deep water and I felt my cardio was ready for it. I should have attempted more take downs, but I still got the win."
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Brunson FS1 prelims
Daniel Kelly defeats Chris Camozzi
Ultimate tough guy Daniel Kelly picked up his fifth UFC win after outlasting Chris Camozzi in a grinder of a fight to pick up the unanimous decision win, 29-28, 29-27, 30-27. It was Kelly’s four takedowns that ultimately won him the fight. He landed only 39 significant strikes out of a total of 84, but controlled Camozzi for 6:28 of the 15 minutes. Camozzi was gaining momentum in the third round but Kelly sealed the deal with another takedown to finish the round.
They said it:
Daniel Kelly : “He was harder to take down than I thought he would be but I am happy with my performance. I’m really happy with my stand up. I think I beat him in the stand up and he is a very accomplished stand up fighter, so I am really happy with that result. I do need to learn how to defend elbows better."
Chris Camozzi: “I guess I didn’t execute the game plan right."
In a very close split decision, Damien Brown received the nod, taking 29-28 winning scorecards from two of the three judges. Brown got out-landed and Tuck put in a higher accuracy rate, but it wasn’t enough to sway the judges. Brown wins his second straight in the UFC.
Jonathan Meunier defeats Rich Walsh
Both men landed a pair of takedowns but it was Jonathan Meunier who won the standup battle, more than doubling Rich Walsh’s total strikes landed en route to a unanimous decision win, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27. Meunier landed 57 percent of his total strikes thrown (105) and more than tripled Walsh in significant strikes, 74-18.
They said it:
Jonathan Menuier : “I feel so good, I am proud of my performance and really happy! My coach Nordine has followed me here to Australia, and my manager too. Unfortunately other fighters couldn’t come to coach me but this a good night for me, I am really happy to come here, the furthest country I have ever travelled to, the win is the best thing I could have received today."
Rich Walsh: “I’m disappointed, I under did myself there. I didn’t throw any combos, I could hear my corner telling me one two hooks, spinning back fist, kick, and honestly I didn’t pull the trigger on anything, I was just standing there like a sitting duck."
Ben Nguyen defeats Geane Herrera
Ben Nguyen utilized slick boxing and turned up the volume, throwing double the number of total strikes as Geane Herrera to earn the easy unanimous decision win, 30-27, 30-26, 30-27. Nguyen frustrated Herrera with his footwork and precision, landing 112-22 in total strikes for the fight. Nguyen landed 105 significant strikes in the fight.
They said it:
Ben Nguyen : “I lost my last fight so this is really good, I have made some adjustments and I’m seeing them come through to get that win."
Geane Herrera: “I went in there and I did what I could, I fell short. I didn’t quite stick to the game plan but you know you live and you learn. I just hope I get another contract with the UFC, because this was my last fight in my contract, that’s really my only worry."
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Brunson FIGHT PASS prelims
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There is no doubting the toughness of either Jason Knight or Dan Hooker after 15 minutes in the UFC FIGHT PASS prelims featured bout. Knight was able to win a unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26) on the strength of a mauling and dominant second round on the mat. Knight had three different submission attempts in the round and came super close to finishing with a deep rear naked choke. Hooker seemed to be winning the stand up in the first round with some solid footwork and head movement. Knight was pushing forward and was getting touched up a bit. So Knight shot a takedown late in the round and that changed the momentum of the fight. Knight improves to 18-2 and has won his last two in the UFC.
Marlon Vera defeats Ning Guangyou
Marlon Vera came on strong in the third round and was able to take a unanimous decision win, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, against Ning Guangyou. It was Vera’s jab that did the most damage in the fight and “Chito” almost finished Guangyou when he landed a pair of jabs in the third round. Guangyou did a lot of damage of his own in the first 10 minutes, but didn’t do enough in the eyes of the judges to steal both rounds.
They said it:
Marlan Vera: “I am feeling very happy, this is my first camp living in California, a long camp, 8 months. I can feel the difference in my game, I can feel like I am fighting now. Before I was too nervous, like I was always trying to survive, today I feel for the first time in my life that I came to fight, I was enjoying the moment. I came to fight for me, for my family and also for my corner, I am so happy to have them in my life. I am proud of my performance and I will be even better in my next fight."
Jenel Lausa defeats Yao Zhikui
Jenel Lausa was a destructive force on the feet, scoring a pair of brutal knock downs against Yao Zhikui, as he cruised to a unanimous decision win, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. In the second round Lausa landed a booming head kick that dropped Zhikui, who showed off his toughness by withstanding the ensuing barrage to make it the distance. Lausa out-landed Zhikui in both total strikes (70-33) and significant strikes (56-29).
They said it:
Jenel Lausa: “I want to thank all of my family, my wife and son, my team, my fans, everyone who has always supported me in the Philippines and around the world, I am especially thankful to God for this blessing. This win is going to be the first of many and I hope to get more blessings, more fights and hopefully I will eventually get to the belt.”
