UFC 243

UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya
UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya
	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
Total gate	$5,470,000
Event chronology

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]

Background

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]

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Middleweight	Israel Adesanya (ic)	def.	Robert Whittaker (c)	KO (punches)	2	3:33	^[a]
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	^[b]

^ For the UFC Middleweight Championship.
^ Originally a Submission (arm-triangle choke) win for Taha; overturned after he tested positive for furosemide.

^[9]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.^[10]

Fight of the Night: Brad Riddell vs. Jamie Mullarkey
Performance of the Night: Israel Adesanya and Yorgan de Castro

Records set

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]