Sydney’s ‘UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs Bisping‘ event was bolstered today with six matchups announced at an official press conference in Sydney.
Not surprisingly, all six additions to the card feature Australian fighters, with Robert Whittaker, Dylan Andrews, Vik Grujic and Jake Matthews all joining the lineup.
Meanwhile, two previously rumored bouts for the event were also officially announced, with Soa Palelei vs Daniel Omielanczuk and Anthony Perosh vs Guto Inocente both confirmed today.
UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs Rockhold will take place on November 8 at the Allphones Arena. A previously announced middleweight fight between Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping will serve as the main event.
Following his win over Mike Rhodes in New Zealand, Sydney based Robert Whittaker (12-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) will search for back-to-back wins when he meets TUF 17 contestant Clint Hester (11-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC). Hester recently moved his win streak to seven with a split points decision win over Antonio Braga Neto in June. Whittaker makes his middleweight debut in this one after previously fighting at welterweight.
Twenty year-old Melbourne fighter Jake Matthews (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will face his biggest test to date when he comes up against 32 year-old Brazilian Vagner Rocha (11-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC). Matthews made an impressive UFC debut in June, submitting Dashon Johnson in New Zealand.
Also at the UFC’s debut New Zealand event, Melbourne’s Vik Grujic (7-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) dropped to the welterweight division for his second UFC appearance, following a decision loss to Nordine Taleb at middleweight. It was a successful move for the TUF Nations fighter, who picked up a TKO win over his TUF castmate Chris Indich. Grujic will square off with Canadian Chris Clements (11-5-1 MMA, 1-1-1nc UFC) in Sydney.
Dylan Andrews (17-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) returns to action, after a long injury related layoff, to face American Sam Alvey (23-6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC). In his last outing, the 34 year-old Gold Coast fighter suffered a disappointing TKO loss to Clint Hester, after a shoulder injury forced him to retire from the December fight in Brisbane.
Updated Fight Card:
- Michael Bisping vs Luke Rockhold
- Anthony Perosh vs Guto Inocente
- Robert Whittaker vs Clint Hester
- Soa Palelei vs Daniel Omielanczuk
- Jake Matthews vs Vagner Rocha
- Vik Grujic vs Chris Clements
- Dylan Andrews vs Sam Alvey
* Image Credit: @UFC_AUSNZ on Twitter
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