Robert Whittaker Vs Israel Adesanya Official For UFC 243 At Stadium Venue

A middleweight title showdown between current champion Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya is set to headline a stadium show in Melbourne, Australia at UFC 243 on October 5th.

The event will take place at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, which can hold up to 60,000 people. The UFC have previously hosted an event of this magnitude in Australia, as UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm also took place in Melbourne at the stadium (when it was known as the Etihad stadium), drawing 56,214 fans on that occasion.

Whittaker enters into this fight having not set foot in the Octagon since June of last year, where he earned a split decision victory over Yoel Romero.

That fight wasn’t a title bout though due to Romero having failed to make weight for the fight. The victory marked Whittaker’s ninth win in a row, including a previous win over ‘The Soldier Of God,’ not to mention also having defeated the likes of Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, Derek Brunson, Rafael Natal and Uriah Hall.

As for Adesanya, the undefeated 17-0 fighter has become one of the UFC’s fastest rising stars in recent times, and has so far racked up six wins in a row inside the Octagon.

Along the way Adesanya has defeated the likes of Kelvin Gastelum, Anderson Silva, Derek Burnson and Brad Tavares, and is the current interim middleweight champion.

Ross Cole
Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.