UFC veteran Ross Pearson has backed Australian middleweight Robert Whittaker to defeat Derek Brunson in Sunday's headline bout in Melbourne.
The pair, ranked seventh and eighth in the world respectively will both enter the Octagon at Rod Laver Arena on five-fight winning streaks as they look to push their claims for a title fight against middleweight champion Michael Bisping.
Brunson (16-3) heads into the fight in imposing form, the powerful American having claimed first-round knockouts in each of his past four bouts.
Whittaker has been impressive in his own right, claiming unanimous decision wins in his last two fights, one over the dangerous Uriah Hall, last year at UFC 193 in Melbourne, and then outlasting crafty veteran Rafael Natal when the Australian broke his hand in the first round.
Pearson is predicting a long fight and believes Whittaker (17-4) can gain the upper hand.
"It's going to be a battle of wills," Pearson said at Saturday's weigh-in.
"I don't think it's going to be a one-punch finish. It's going to be a long drawn-out fight and a tactical chess match.
"Derek Brunson's bringing a solid game with his wrestling and that solid left hook he's got.
"I think Rob can get the job done. He's a little bit more explosive and he's a little bit more on fire right now."
Whittaker will look to use a win over Brunson as a stepping stone to a title fight in the stacked middleweight division.
The Whittaker-Brunson bout was moved up to the headline act on the Melbourne card when the previous main event between former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and Ronaldo Souza was postponed after Rockhold suffered an injury.
Melbourne lightweight Jake Matthews will take on US veteran Andrew Holbrook in the co-main event, while former Australian Olympic judoka Daniel Kelly will face Chris Camozzi.
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