UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya | ||||
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![]() The poster for UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya | ||||
Information | ||||
Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
Date | October 6, 2019 | |||
Venue | Marvel Stadium | |||
City | Melbourne, Australia | |||
Attendance | 57,127 [1] | |||
Total gate | $5,470,000 [1] | |||
Event chronology | ||||
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UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 6, 2019, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. [2] [3]
The event was the fourth that the promotion had contested in Melbourne and second at the venue, following UFC 193 in November 2015. [3]
A UFC Middleweight Championship unification bout between the champion Robert Whittaker (also The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes welterweight winner) and undefeated interim champion Israel Adesanya served as the event's headliner. [4]
A women's bantamweight bout between former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm and former title challenger Raquel Pennington was expected to take place at this event. [5] The pairing previously met at UFC 184 in February 2015, when Holm won via split decision in her UFC debut. [6] However, on September 27, it was revealed that Holm withdrew from the bout due to a hamstring injury and the bout was cancelled. [7]
At the weigh-ins, Khalid Taha and Ji Yeon Kim missed the required weight for their respective fights. Taha weighed in at 137 pounds, 1 pound over the bantamweight non-title fight limit of 136. Meanwhile, Kim weighed in at 128 pounds, 2 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit of 126. Both bouts were held at catchweight. Taha and Kim were fined 20% and 30% of their purse respectively, which went to their opponents Bruno Gustavo da Silva and Nadia Kassem. [8]
Main Card | |||||||
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Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
Middleweight | Israel Adesanya (ic) | def. | Robert Whittaker (c) | KO (punches) | 2 | 3:33 | [lower-alpha 1] |
Lightweight | Dan Hooker | def. | Al Iaquinta | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Heavyweight | Serghei Spivac | def. | Tai Tuivasa | Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 2 | 3:14 | |
Welterweight | Dhiego Lima | def. | Luke Jumeau | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Heavyweight | Yorgan De Castro | def. | Justin Tafa | KO (punch) | 1 | 2:10 | |
Preliminary Card (ESPN2) | |||||||
Welterweight | Jake Matthews | def. | Rostem Akman | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Welterweight | Callan Potter | def. | Maki Pitolo | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Lightweight | Brad Riddell | def. | Jamie Mullarkey | Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 30–26, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Women's Featherweight | Megan Anderson | def. | Zarah Fairn dos Santos | Submission (triangle choke) | 1 | 3:57 | |
Early Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
Catchweight (128 lb) | Ji Yeon Kim | def. | Nadia Kassem | TKO (body punches) | 2 | 4:59 | |
Catchweight (137 lb) | Khalid Taha | vs. | Bruno Gustavo da Silva | No Contest (overturned) | 3 | 3:00 | [lower-alpha 2] |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. [10]
UFC 243 broke the attendance record for a UFC event with a total of 57,127 people. The previous record (56,214) had been set at the same venue in November 2015 at UFC 193. [1]
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