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.
