UFC 243 went down tonight (Sat. October 5, 2019) from Sydney, Australia. The world’s leading mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion compiled an excellent card for fight fans to enjoy.
It was headlined by a meeting between a UFC middleweight title clash between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.
The co-headliner saw a lightweight bout between Al Iaquinta and Dan Hooker.
Rounding out the five bout main card was Tai Tuivasa vs. Sergey Spivack in a heavyweight bout, Luke Jumeau vs. Dhiego Lima in a welterweight contest, and Justin Tafa vs. Yorgan De Castro in a heavyweight bout.
Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya
Whittaker was very aggressive but he was missing his wild hooks in round one. Whittaker was throwing everything he could at the challenger in the early going while the young contender was feeling it out and throwing a lot of kicks. Adesanya dropped him with a huge shot but the bell sounded as Whittaker hit the ground. Adesanya stunned him a few times in the second round with a counter right hook. Both fighters had an exchange in the pocket and Adesanya dropped him with the counter right hook then finished him on the ground for the TKO win. We have a new UFC middleweight champion and its Adesanya.
Al Iaquinta vs. Dan Hooker
It was all Hooker in round one as he looked good with strikes and solid ground and pound. At one point, he was able to take Al’s back. Hooker dropped him with a nice leg kick. In round two, Al just turned it into a slugfest and was throwing shots at will with no regard. Iaquinta started to mix things up with strikes and takedown attempts, which were getting stuffed. Hooker dropped him with a big right hand and swarmed on him with strikes but Iaquinta survived. It was a much calmer third round. In the end, the judges gave the win to Hooker.
Tai Tuivasa vs. Sergey Spivak
Spivak lands an overhand right and Tai was down but pops right up. Spivak was able to score a takedown. Tai managed to scramble back to his feet. They trade punches and then Spivak takes him down, going for the bulldog choke but Tai explodes out of it. In the second round, Spivak scored another powerful takedown but Tai got right back up. Spivak got full mount where he smashed with strikes then locked in the arm-triangle for the win.
Luke Jumeau vs. Dhiego Lima
A striking affair in round one with Lima getting poked in the eye before he started attacking the legs of Jumeau to the point where it was a red and swollen mess. Both fighters had their moments in the second round which just so happened to have the highlight of Jumeau rocking him with a left hook up against the fence. Lim knocked him down with a kick. The third round saw more of the same in the striking department. In the end, the judges gave the win to Lima by decision.
Justin Tafa vs. Yorgan De Castro
Both fighters came out swinging. Tafa rushed towards Castro and Castro landed a big right hook that dropped Tafa like a sack of potatoes. That’s a wrap. One punch KO.
It was certain to have a great night of fights from the Marvel Stadium. Check out MMA News’ UFC 243 results below:
Quick UFC 243 Results
Main Card (PPV/10 p.m. ET)
- Middleweight: Israel Adesanya def. Robert Whittaker by knockout (punches) at 3:33 of Round 2
- Lightweight: Dan Hooker def. Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Heavyweight: Serghei Spivak def. Tai Tuivasa by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:14 of Round 2
- Welterweight: Dhiego Lima def. Luke Jumeau by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Heavyweight: Yorgan De Castro def. Justin Tafa by knockout (punch) at 2:10 of Round 1
Preliminary Card (ESPN2/8 p.m. ET)
- Welterweight: Jake Matthews def. Rostem Akman by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Welterweight: Callan Potter def. Maki Pitolo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Lightweight: Brad Riddell def. Jamie Mullarkey by unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Women’s Featherweight: Megan Anderson def. Zarah Fairn by submission (triangle choke) at 3:57 of Round 1
Preliminary Card (ESPN+/6 p.m. ET)
- Women’s Flyweight: Ji Yeon Kim def. Nadia Kassem by TKO (punches) at 4:59 of Round 2
- Bantamweight: Khalid Taha def. Bruno Silva by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:00 of Round 3
