UFC 243 saw Australian middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (20-5) dethroned in front of a home crowd as Israel Adesanya (18-0) remained undefeated and took the title.
Interim champion Adesanya finished the fight at 3:33 of the second round, catching Whittaker with consecutive hooks to make the Aussie's return to the ring after a 16-month absence an unsuccessful one.
In the co-main event of the evening, New Zealand's Dan Hooker defeated Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26).
Both Whittaker and Adesanya are incredibly versatile and dangerous, and the odds show this one is a ‘pick ‘em’. The tall, rangy Adesanya is in the form of his life, having remarkably fought and won six times in just over a year since entering the UFC, and Whittaker’s last bout – 16 months ago – saw the Aussie take a lot of damage in his second consecutive win over middleweight monster Yoel Romero.
That said, Gastelum – despite a distinct height and reach disadvantage – was able to land regularly and heavily on Adesanya earlier this year, and should have finished ‘The Last Stylebender’.
Whittaker still has a shorter reach and height than his challenger this weekend, but not as severely as Gastelum. ‘The Reaper’ is also quicker and more well-rounded than Gastelum. Given Gastelum was able to damage ‘Stylebender’ as much as he did when the pair met, the experienced Whittaker should be able to inflict enough of an assault on his opponent to leave Marvel Stadium with his belt still around his waist.
Expect a war, though.
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How can I watch it?
The event will be shown live on BT Sport 1, the BT Sport App and BTSport.com for subscribers.
Prediction
Both Whittaker and Adesanya are incredibly versatile and dangerous, and the odds show this one is a ‘pick ‘em’. The tall, rangy Adesanya is in the form of his life, having remarkably fought and won six times in just over a year since entering the UFC, and Whittaker’s last bout – 16 months ago – saw the Aussie take a lot of damage in his second consecutive win over middleweight monster Yoel Romero.
That said, Gastelum – despite a distinct height and reach disadvantage – was able to land regularly and heavily on Adesanya earlier this year, and should have finished ‘The Last Stylebender’.
Whittaker still has a shorter reach and height than his challenger this weekend, but not as severely as Gastelum. ‘The Reaper’ is also quicker and more well-rounded than Gastelum. Given Gastelum was able to damage ‘Stylebender’ as much as he did when the pair met, the experienced Whittaker should be able to inflict enough of an assault on his opponent to leave Marvel Stadium with his belt still around his waist.
Expect a war, though.
When is UFC 243?
The preliminary card starts at 12am (BST), followed by the main card at 3am (BST), with the main event fight expected to begin at around 5:30am.
How can I watch it?
The event will be shown live on BT Sport 1, the BT Sport App and BTSport.com for subscribers.
Full card
Robert Whittaker (c) vs. Israel Adesanya (ic) – middleweight championship
Al Iaquinta vs. Dan Hooker
Tai Tuivasa vs. Serghei Spivac
Luke Jumeau vs. Dhiego Lima
Justin Tafa vs. Yorgan De Castro
Prelims
Jake Matthews vs. Rostam Akman
Callan Potter vs. Maki Pitolo
Megan Anderson vs. Zarah Fairn Dos Santos
Brad Riddell vs. Jamie Mullarkey
Nadia Kassem vs. Ji Yeon Kim
Khalid Taha vs Bruno Silva
