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]
| UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe 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
edit| 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.
Bonus awards
editThe 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
editUFC 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]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c Staff (2019-10-06). "UFC 243 sets new UFC attendance record, Adesanya gets a bonus". asiamma.com. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
- ^ Staff (2019-07-23). "UFC 243, Robert Whiitaker v Israel Adesanya fight set for Melbourne on October 5". foxsports.com. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
- ^ a b Nick Walshaw (2019-07-23). "Record crowd expected for Aussie UFC blockbuster". dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
- ^ Tyler Conway (2019-07-23). "Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya to headline UFC 243 card in Melbourne". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
- ^ Paul Kasabian (2019-08-07). "Report: Holly Holm to Face Raquel Pennington at UFC 243". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
- ^ Brent Brookhouse (2015-02-28). "UFC 184 results, photos: Heavily hyped Holly Holm takes split from Raquel Pennington". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
- ^ Damon Martin (2019-07-29). "Holly Holm reveals the injury that forced her out of the fight against Raquel Pennington at UFC 243". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ^ Staff (2019-10-04). "UFC 243 weigh-in results: Two miss weight, but Whittaker vs. Adesanya official". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
- ^ "UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
- ^ Alexander Lee (2019-10-06). "UFC 243 bonuses: Israel Adesanya rewarded for championship-winning knockout". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2019-10-06.