The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs UK welterweight champion Robert Whittaker has been announced to face Houston, Texas based fighter Brian Melancon on the UFC Fight Night 33 event scheduled to occur on December 7 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Queensland.
News of the match-up was first announced via MMA Kanvas, with UFC officials later confirming the bout.
Whtitaker will be looking at bouncing back after losing his last bout, in a closely contested fight to Court McGee back in August. Prior to that, Whittaker was on a two fight win streak having defeated Colton Smith via TKO and Brad Scott for the TUF Smashes crown. The 22 year-old will bring a 11-3 record into the fight.
His opponent, 31 year-old Brian Melancon also is coming off a recent loss, having gone down to Kelvin Gastelum in August. Prior to that Melancon had defeated Seth Baczynski via a first-round KO in July. Melancon was signed by the UFC after a small stint in Strikeforce and will be bringing a 7-3 record into the contest.
Also confirmed in the last few days was a bantamweight bout between Nam Phan (18-11) and Japanese fighter Takeya Mizugaki. Phan will be dropping down from the featherweight division for the contest and will be desperate for a win, having won only two fights in his six fight tenure inside the UFC. Mizugaki is riding a high, having won his last three UFC bouts to take his UFC record to 5-2.
The event will be headlined by a heavyweight clash between Mark Hunt & Antonio Silva, while in the semi-main James Te Huna goes to battle against former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Tickets for the event go on sale to the general public on October 10.
Fight Card Announced so far:
- Mark Hunt vs Antonio Silva
- James Te Huna vs Mauricio Rua
- Pat Barry vs Soa Palelei
- Antony Perosh vs Ryan Bader
- Dylan Andrews vs Clint Hester
- Caio Magalhaes vs Nick Ring
- Nam Phan vs Takeya Mizugaki
- Brian Melancon vs Robert Whittaker
