Fans will gather in Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia tomorrow night as some of the best fighters in the world will step into the octagon for UFC 243 on ESPN+.
The UFC pay per view will feature some very exciting fights, including a middleweight championship bout featuring the returning champion Robert Whittaker, who hasn’t fought since June of last year. That’s not the only big fight though. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most important fights at UFC 243.
Heavyweight bout: Tai Tuivasa vs. Sergey Spivak
Everyone loves a good heavyweight fight and this is going to be a good one. Tai Tuivasa is still ranked as the number 14 heavyweight in the UFC, despite coming off of back to back losses to Junior dos Santos and Blagoy Ivanov via TKO and decision respectively. He’s certainly still a threat with some very heavy hands, as is evident by the fact that seven of his eight wins have come by knockout.
His opponent is also dangerous however. Sergey Spivak is also coming off of a loss – a TKO from Walt Harris back in May. Prior to that though, he was a perfect 9-0, with five wins by submission and four by knockout. On top of that, Spivak has only been out of the first round one time in his 10 fights. You can definitely expect some early fireworks in this fight.
Lightweight Bout: Al Iaquinta vs. Dan Hooker
No shortage of talent in this matchup. The sixth-ranked lightweight, Al Iaquinta is a win and a loss separated from his impressive showing against the dominant lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. He has since won a decision against the talented Kevin Lee and lost a decision to the dangerous veteran Donald Cerrone.
His opponent is the 15th ranked lightweight, Dan Hooker, who is coming off of a knockout win over James Vick in July. That followed up a brutal knockout loss to Edson Barboza on a punch to the body last year. Hooker is an explosive striker but also has a dangerous guillotine choke, which he may have to use against Iaquinta, who is a solid grappler himself.
Middleweight Championship bout: Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya
Every good pay per view needs a good main event and that’s exactly what we have here. As I mentioned earlier, the UFC Middleweight champ Robert Whittaker will be returning for his first fight since June of last year. Whittaker won back-to-back decisions over Yoel Romero, with almost a year between those fights due to his injuries. Now, he’ll have to come off of another long layoff to hold on to his championship. Losing doesn’t come easily to him though. He hasn’t dropped a fight since 2014.
If you think that’s impressive though, the 30-year-old Israel Adesanya is a perfect 17-0 in his seven-year MMA career and is currently the interim UFC Middleweight champion. The unique and creative striker has earned the nickname “The Last Stylebender” with his unorthodox technique. He’s coming off of impressive wins over Kelvin Gastelum and perhaps the greatest fighter to ever do it, Anderson Silva, this year. This will certainly be a fun fight as Whittaker will do whatever it takes to keep his title and Adesanya will try to remove the “interim” from his.
UFC 243 will be held tomorrow night, Saturday, October 5 at 10 PM ET. Fight fans can order the pay per view through ESPN+ and receive a special offer: $79.98 for UFC 243 and an ESPN+ annual plan. ESPN+ subscribers can order the pay per view for $59.99.