The Ultimate Fighting Championship is bringing one of the most anticipated fights of the year to Australia with UFC 243 on Saturday, October 5. The event — which takes place at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne — is headlined by a bout between Australia’s own Robert Whittaker and New Zealand’s Israel Adesanya for the undisputed middleweight championship. Whittaker enters the fight as champion, while Adesanya stuck his claim to the interim crown earlier this year.
In the co-main event, lightweights Dan Hooker and Al Iaquinta will go head-to-head.
Ahead of this weekend’s event, the UFC uploaded its behind-the-scenes YouTube series “UFC Embedded” to give you an up-close look at what the fighters go through on fight week as they make their final preparations for Saturday night.
Below is all of the information you will need leading up to the fight, including every episode of UFC 243 Embedded.
UFC 243: Fight Time & Viewing Details
Event: UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya
Date: Saturday, October 5, 2019
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Venue: Marvel Stadium
Main Card Card Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
Broadcast: Pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+
UFC 243 Embedded, Episode 1
On Episode 1 of UFC 243 Embedded, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker enjoys the calm before the storm, playing video games and wrangling his kids for a family photo shoot. Lightweight Al Iaquinta acclimates to Australia in the gym. Interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and lightweight Dan Hooker are greeted in Melbourne with a traditional haka.
UFC 243 Fight Card
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10:00 p.m. ET)
- Champ Robert Whittaker vs. Interim champ Israel Adesanya – to unify middleweight title
- Dan Hooker vs. Al Iaquinta
- Sergey Spivak vs. Tai Tuivasa
- Luke Jumeau vs. Dhiego Lima
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2, 8:00 p.m. ET)
- Rostem Akman vs. Jake Matthews
- Yorgan De Castro vs. Justin Tafa
- Maki Pitolo vs. Callan Potter
- Megan Anderson vs. Zarah Fairn Dos Santos
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)
- Jamie Mullarkey vs. Brad Riddell
- Nadia Kassem vs. Ji Yeon Kim
- Bruno Silva vs. Khalid Taha