Nothing in the near future is going to come close to matching what went down in Madison Square Garden a few weeks ago, however having Robert Whittaker and Dan Hooker on the same card is up there for us kiwis. The UFC is back in Melbourne and after Luke Rockhold's fight against Jacare Souza was scratched, Whittaker is the main-event with the kiwi set to take on Derek Brunson while Hooker fights in the Early Prelims against Jason Knight.

Whittaker is an up-and-comer in the middleweight division, who isn't too far off working his way into title-fight contention. Whittaker is 7-2 in the UFC, while Brunson is 7-1 and Brunson's only loss coming against Yoel Romero who is expected to fight Michael Bisping next for the middleweight title. Both fighters are coming into this fight on a five-fight win streak, meaning that they not only have similar records and have stacked up wins recently, they are also ranked #7 (Whittaker) and #8 (Brunson) in the division which makes this one heck of a match up.

The last time Whittaker fought, he won via decision against Rafael Natal back in April and the the last three fights he's had in Australia, Whittaker has won them all with a win over Uriah Hall in Melbourne last November a stand out. 

Brunson managed to take Romero down three times when they fought and as Whittaker is a noted striker - combining speed and some hearty Maori power - this will be an intrigue stylistic match up. Whittaker will want to use that speed and range of strikes to keep Brunson standing, which could be dangerous though as Brunson has knocked his last four opponents out.

I love this fight because it's a nice gauge of where Whittaker is at and as he's only 25-years, there will be plenty of opportunities for him to bounce back should he lose. Whittaker has been quietly simmering away for about a year now and after moving up from welterweight to middleweight, Whittaker has continued to improve and step up as the calibre of his opponent rises. Brunson though, provides a greater challenge to what Whittaker has faced before and with Brunson being the stronger wrestler, this will be a fantastic opportunity for Whittaker to show off some takedown defence, or that he's so slick with his movement and striking that the threat of Brunson's wrestling is nullified.

Whittaker has already established himself as one of the brightest prospects in the entire UFC roster, especially as most fighters in the UFC are either over or closer to 30yrs and than their mid-20's. Hooker on the other hand is still trying to establish himself in the featherweight division and to offer some context; Conor McGregor's the featherweight champion.
Hooker's time in the UFC hasn't been as successful as Whittaker's, yet he's still there battling away and has gone win-loss-win-loss-win in his five UFC fights so far. In his last outing, Hooker submitted Mark Eddiva with a slick guillotine while his opponent Knight has had two UFC fights with a loss and a win. 

Being slightly taller and with a few inches' reach advantage, Hooker will probably look to keep Knight at a distance while also looking to limit Knight's takedown opportunities by keeping him wrapped up with plenty of knees, punches and elbows in the clinch. Knight is a noted grappler and if this fight goes to the ground, Hooker could find himself in trouble and there'll also be some danger in inviting Knight for a blow-for-blow brawl as Knight did pretty well at that against Jim Alers in his last fight.

Right now, Hooker simply needs to win as he doesn't have the impressive performances on his resume that Whittaker does. Just as Whittaker is in for an interesting test against a fighter who is looking to leap-frog him in the rankings, Hooker's fight against Knight holds great intrigue as it feels like he could push his way up a few levels in the UFC, however he's yet to perform with any great consistency.

This is a card that doesn't draw in the casual sports fan because there's no big name and besides Whittaker vs Brunson, there are no real fights of any great importance. For us kiwis though, two of our lads have a great opportunity to sneak forward in their respective divisions and as the UFC continues to reach all corners of the globe, that's fairly impressive.