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.

Background

The event was the fourth that the promotion had contested in Melbourne and second at the venue, following UFC 193 in November 2015.
A UFC Middleweight Championship unification bout between the champion Robert Whittaker and undefeated interim champion Israel Adesanya served as the event's headliner.
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. The pairing previously met at UFC 184 on February 2015, when Holm won via split decision in her UFC debut. However on September 27, it was revealed that Holm withdrew from the bout due to a hamstring injury and the bout was cancelled.
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.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
UFC 243 broke the attendance record for a UFC event with a total of 57,127 people. The previous record had been set at the same venue in November 2015 at UFC 193.