It’s settled: UFC 243 has found a home. And it’s down under.
UFC officials announced on Tuesday that the Oct. 5 pay-per-view event, headlined by a middleweight title unifier between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya, will take place at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The Daily Telegraph was first to report the news, which comes after uncertainty of whether UFC 243 would take place in Las Vegas or Australia as originally intended.
New Zealand-born Australian champion Whittaker chimed in on Twitter, sharing his excitement to headline the card in his home country.
Whittaker (20-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) originally was slated to headline UFC 234 against Kelvin Gastelum at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne before he was forced out just hours before the fight due to emergency abdominal hernia surgery. Whittaker will now get an opportunity to make it up to the Australian fans in what is highly regarded as the biggest MMA fight in the Oceanic region’s history against Nigerian-born New Zealander interim champ Adesanya.
The event will be held on the same day as Sydney’s NRL Grand Final. Marvel Stadium can reach a capacity of 60,000. If UFC 243 sells out, as expected, it would be the largest crowd in UFC history. The current record also took place in Australia for UFC 193 at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium, where 56,214 fans saw Holly Holm shock the world with a knockout of Ronda Rousey in the night’s headliner.
The much anticipated match between Whittaker and Adesanya will mark an Australasian showdown. Whittaker has never lost in Australia, and rising megastar Adesanya (17-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is undefeated in his professional MMA career.
For more on UFC 243, check out the UFC schedule.
