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Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya to Headline UFC 243 Card in Melbourne
July 23, 2019
Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya are set to headline UFC 243 in Australia, Melbourne's Marvel Stadium announced Tuesday.
The UFC will be holding its second event in Australia in 2019. Adesanya fought Anderson Silva at Rod Laver Arena in February, winning via unanimous decision.
The New Zealander is the interim UFC middleweight champion after defeating Kelvin Gastelum via unanimous decision at UFC 236.
"This is the perfect fight at the perfect time with the two best athletes in the division," UFC President Dana White said. "I am pumped to go back to Melbourne for this massive event. To have two champions in Whittaker and Adesanya fighting for the title on home turf is huge. This will be the biggest fight in Australian history."
Marvel Stadium has a capacity of more than 50,000, giving the event the massive appeal White wanted for the middleweight showcase.
Whittaker, who was born in New Zealand and resides in Australia, has not fought since a split-decision win over Yoel Romero at UFC 225. He missed a chunk of time after undergoing surgery for an abdominal hernia and a twisted and collapsed bowel, which caused him to pull out of a scheduled bout against Gastelum at UFC 236.
Marvel Stadium famously was the host of Holly Holm's shocking win over Ronda Rousey at UFC 193. It was the second-to-last fight of Rousey's career.
