In the aftermath of the UFC Manila cancellation, particular match ups have been rescheduled for the Fight Night 101 card in Melbourne.
In a flyweight bout, Philippines’ own Jenel Lausa will take on China’s Yao Zhikui inside the iconic Rod Laver Arena on November 27.
Lausa (6-2), will make his UFC debut as the reigning Pacific Xtreme Combat flyweight champion. The 28-year-old is currently riding a four fight winning streak and most recently earned a split decision victory over Crisanto Pitpitunge in January.
Zhikui (2-3) was a semifinalist on ‘TUF: China’ and has a record of 1-2 since joining the UFC. In his company debut, he lost via split decision to Royton Wee before bouncing back with a split decision win over Nolan Ticman. However, in his most recent bout, the 25 year old Chinese fighter suffered a TKO loss ( via arm injury) to Fred Serrano in 44 seconds.
In the women’s strawweight division, Seo-Hee Ham will face Danielle Taylor in another bout moved to the land down under.
Ham (17-7) is one of the smaller competitors in division but was able to go the distance with notable finishers Joanne Calderwood and Bec Rawlings. The South Korean fighter has gone 1-2 in the UFC, claiming her only victory against Cortney Casey, where she was able to achieve Fight of the Night honors in a three round war.
She will be facing Danielle Taylor (7-2) who was signed to the UFC after winning the King of the Cage strawweight title against undefeated Jamie Colleen last March. The 26 year from Palmdale, California was unimpressive in her UFC debut losing to Maryna Moroz via split decision but will be looking for redemption come November.
In an unexpected turn of events, Brendan O’Reilly has been booked for the Ultimate Fighter finale at Palm Springs Casino on December 3. He will meet South Korean Dong Hyun Kim (The Maestro) at lightweight in what will be his first fight since suffering a first round TKO defeat to Alan Jouban back in March. ‘The Badger’ will be looking to even up his 1-2 UFC record as his opponent simultaneously searches for his first win inside the promotion.
UFC Melbourne fight card to date:
- Luke Rockhold vs. Ronaldo Souza
- Derek Brunson vs. Robert Whittaker
- Kyle Noke vs. Dominique Steele
- Damien Brown v John Tuck
- Alex Volkanovski v Yusuke Kasuya
- Daniel Kelly vs. Chris Camozzi
- Ben Nguyen vs. Geane Herrera
- Jake Matthews vs. Andrew Holbrook
- Richard Walsh vs. Jonathan Meunier
- Daniel Hooker vs. Jason Knight
- Jenel Lausa vs. Yao Zhikui
- Seo Hee Ham vs. Danielle Taylor
