Robert Whittaker v Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship (in what I’m dubbing the Anzac match) is not the only reason to tune in to UFC 243 in Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Oct 6. The undercard will feature the return of a former conquer and another upcoming Aussie.
Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight champ Holly Holm, will return to Marvel Stadium (then Etihad Stadium) where Holm famously defeated then champ Ronda Rousey, in what was the upset of the century for the UFC.
Holm will take on Rachael Pennington in an attempt to rebuild her career after her loss to Women’s Bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes in June. Pennington has also been a victim of Nunes who suffered a loss st the hands of the duel champ at UFC 224 in May of 2018.
Upcoming Heavyweight contender and the first Aboriginal fighter Tai Tuivasa (that’s the Aussie bloke who does the shoey) will make his first appearance for the UFC in Melbourne against Serghei Spivac. Tuivasa is looking to get back into the winners circle after suffering two defeats in a row at the hands of Junior Dos Santos (Tko punches) and Blagoy Ivanov (unanimous decision). Spivac is undefeated in his mma career with a record of 9-0.
The full card for the event is as follows
Mainevent
Robert Whittaker (c) v Israel Adesanya –
UFC Middleweight title
Co-Main
Nadia Kassem v Ji Yeon Kim – Women’s Flyweight
Undercard
Al Iaquinta vs. Dan Hooker- Lightweight
Tai Tuivasa vs. Serghei Spiva – Heavyweight
Luke Jumeau vs. Dhiego Lima – Welterweight
Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington -Women’s bantamweight
Justin Tafa vs. Yorgan De Castro-Heavyweight
Jake Matthews vs. Rostam Akman –
Welterweight
Callan Potter vs. Maki Pitolo- Welterweight
The action kicks off from 1pm AEDT on Foxtel Mainevent.