Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 20, 2026

UFC 243

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.

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UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya
The poster for UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateOctober 6, 2019 (2019-10-06)
VenueMarvel Stadium
CityMelbourne, Australia
Attendance57,1271
Total gate$5,470,0001
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya UFC Fight Night: Joanna vs. Waterson

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.23

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
  1. For the UFC Middleweight Championship.
  2. 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

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Staff (2019-10-06). "UFC 243 sets new UFC attendance record, Adesanya gets a bonus". asiamma.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  2. Staff (2019-07-23). "UFC 243, Robert Whiitaker v Israel Adesanya fight set for Melbourne on October 5". foxsports.com. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  3. Nick Walshaw (2019-07-23). "Record crowd expected for Aussie UFC blockbuster". dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  4. Tyler Conway (2019-07-23). "Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya to headline UFC 243 card in Melbourne". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  5. Paul Kasabian (2019-08-07). "Report: Holly Holm to Face Raquel Pennington at UFC 243". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Staff (2019-10-04). "UFC 243 weigh-in results: Two miss weight, but Whittaker vs. Adesanya official". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  9. "UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  10. Alexander Lee (2019-10-06). "UFC 243 bonuses: Israel Adesanya rewarded for championship-winning knockout". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2019-10-06.