On Saturday, Oct. 5 (in North America), the UFC will host UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya from Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
In the night’s main event, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker clashes with interim titleholder Israel Adesanya in a unification bout. Whittaker enters the match-up having won nine straight fights in the Octagon. However, the New Zealand-born fighter suffered an abdominal hernia in February and has been out of action ever since. Adesanya, meanwhile, has taken the division by storm since transitioning to MMA from kickboxing. The Nigeria native is undefeated through his first 17 MMA fights, including six straight under the UFC banner. He defeated Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 to claim interim gold.
The 11-fight event kicks off with two preliminary-card fights streaming live on ESPN+ at 6:45 p.m. ET. Four additional prelims follow on ESPN 2 at 8 p.m. ET, with the five-fight main card airing on ESPN+ pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET.
Above is video of the event’s post-fight press conference (courtesy of the UFC) which kicks off approximately 30 minutes after the main event between Whittaker and Adesanya.
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Luke Jumeau vs. Dhiego Lima
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Jamie Mullarkey vs. Brad Riddell
Megan Anderson vs. Zarah Fairn Dos Santos
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