With Rockhold injured, Brunson vs. Whittaker gets UFC Fight Night 101 main event slot

After an injury knocked Luke Rockhold out of his UFC 101 main event with Ronaldo Souza, the card needed a new main event.

The middleweight showdown between Derek Brunson (16-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and Robert Whittaker (16-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has gotten the bump and will now serve as the featured bout of the event, which takes place Nov. 26 (Nov. 27 in Australia) at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The event airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass. The promotion today announced the change to the card as well as the addition of two rounds to the bout.

Brunson is No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, and Whittaker is No. 12.

Brunson fought Uriah Hall in the UFC Fight Night 94 co-headliner and scored a TKO victory. The 32-year-old has now won five straight fights (the past four via knockout), and is 7-1 overall since joining the UFC in 2012 following a stint with Strikeforce.

After the Hall victory, Brunson said he wanted future matchup that will move him closer to a title shot (see the video above). A win over another top-15 opponent in Whittaker likely fits that bill.

Whittaker, 25, won “The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes” in 2012 and is 7-2 since then. However, his best work has come of late. He’s won five straight fights – including impressive wins over notable opponents like Brad Tavares, Hall and Rafael Natal – with a pair of fight-night bonuses.

Souza’s status for the event remains up in the air, though his manager told MMAjunkie only a fight with champ Michael Bisping fits his goals.

The UFC Fight Night 101 lineup currently includes:

• Derek Brunson vs. Robert Whittaker
• Ronaldo Souza vs. opponent TBA
• Andrew Holbrook vs. Jake Matthews
• Omari Akhmedov vs. Kyle Nokev
• Yusuke Kasuya vs. Alex Volkanovski
• Chris Camozzi vs. Daniel Kelly
• Damien Brown vs. Jon Tuck
• Jonathan Meunier vs. Richard Walsh
• Geane Herrera vs. Ben Nguyen
• Dan Hooker vs. Jason Knight
• Jenel Lausa vs. Yao Zhikui
• Seo Hee Ham vs. Danielle Taylor

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