Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will crown a new undisputed middleweight champion TONIGHT (Sat., Oct. 5, 2016), as Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker puts his 185-pound strap on the line against current interim titleholder and “Last Stylebender,” Israel Adesanya. Their five-round main event tops the UFC 243 pay-per-view (PPV) fight card on ESPN+, which takes place inside Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Also featured “Down Under” is hometown lightweight contender Dan “The Hangman” Hooker in his quest to beat down “Ragin’” American interloper Al Iaquinta. In addition, heavyweight hurter Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa looks to get back on the path to the 265-pound title against fellow up-and-coming bruiser, Sergey “The Polar Bear” Spivak. And don’t forget about the UFC 243 “Prelims” spread across ESPN+, ESPN2, and the UFC Fight Pass digital network!
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 243 fight card below, starting with the Fight Pass/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps, and post-fight analysis following “Whittaker vs. Adesanya.” Without further delay, see below for the latest UFC 243 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action.)
UFC 243 QUICK RESULTS:
Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya — Adesanya def. Whittaker by TKO (punches) at 3:33 of Round Two — HIGHLIGHTS!
Dan Hooker vs. Al Iaquinta — Hooker def. Iaquinta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Sergey Spivak vs. Tai Tuivasa — Spivak def. Tuivasa via submission (arm triangle) at of 3:14 Round Two — HIGHLIGHTS!
Luke Jumeau vs. Dhiego Lima — Lims def. Jumeau via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Yorgan De Castro vs. Justin Tafa — De Castro def. Tafa by KO (punch) at 2:10 of Round One — HIGHLIGHTS!
Rostem Akman vs. Jake Matthews — Matthews def. Akman by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Maki Pitolo vs. Callan Potter — Potter def. Pitolo by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Jamie Mullarkey vs. Brad Riddell — Riddell def. Mullarkey by unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26 x2)
Megan Anderson vs. Zarah Fairn dos Santos — Anderson def. Fairn dos Santos by submission (triangle choke) at 3:57 of Round One — HIGHLIGHTS!
Nadia Kassem vs. Ji Yeon Kim — Kim def. Kassem by TKO (punches) at 4:59 of Round Two
Bruno Silva vs. Khalid Taha — Taha def. Silva by submission (arm triangle choke) at 3:00 of Round Three — HIGHLIGHTS!
UFC 243 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
185 lbs.: Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker vs. Interim Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya
Round 1: Whittaker lands the first blow of the fight, a step-in left hook. Trading low kick attempts. Whittaker rushes in, can’t connect. Lead jab lands. One minute in. Whittaker connects with some glancing blows at close range. Check hook from Adesanya. Jab connects. They trade in the center. Oblique kick from Whittaker. Adesanya jab two minutes in, then one to the body. Whittaker whiffs on a head kick. 3-1-2 and overhand fall short. Adesanya takes a finger in the eye, doesn’t take long to recover. Two minutes to go.
Whittaker to the body. He’s driving in hard, falling short. Trading leg kicks. Whittaker tries a head kick. Adesanya as well. They trade in the center. They trade at the bell and Adesanya floors Whittaker with a brutal right hand, but doesn’t have time to follow up. 10-9 Adesanya.
Round 2: Whittaker working behind his jab, lands a straight right behind them. They trade rights. Body kick and jab from Adesanya. He’s constantly backing and leaning out of range. One minute in. Lead hook from Whittaker. Check hook hurts Whittaker, whose nose looks damaged. Glancing head kick by Adesanya and he’s looking to open up, weaving out of Whittaker’s range. Body shots two minutes in. Whittaker combo falls short, Adesanya comes back with a leg kick. Another low kick. Whittaker lands a left hook. They trade, Whittaker answers a hook with a head kick. Two minutes to go.
Adesanya weaves away from a head kick and they trade inside. Big exchange in the center and a left hook short-circuits Whittaker. He stumbles back, falls, and the ground-and-pound puts him away.
Final result: Adesanya def. Whittaker by TKO (punches)
155 lbs.: Dan Hooker vs. Al Iaquinta
Round 1: Hooker stalks early, lands a low kick. Iaquinta misses an overhand. Hard calf kick from Hooker, and a jab. Iaquinta evades a couple jabs. Third hard low kick scores for Hooker. Iaquinta answers with a good body kick and lands a left hook. Active jab is working well for Hooker, who chops again at the calf. Iaquinta glances an overhand off the skull of Hooker. Iaquinta is swept off his feet by a low kick. Iaquinta then attempts a single leg takedown, but he eats a hail of elbows in the process. Hooker reverses his way into top position with a guillotine choke, takes the back. Iaquinta defends the choke attempts and scrambles up with 45 seconds left. Two more low kicks land, one of which knocks Iaquinta to his back. A counter straight from Hooker stuns his foe.
10-8 Hooker
Round 2: Nice left hook to the body from Iaquinta to open the second round. Takedown feint from the New Yorker then a good left hook high. Hooker stings a pair of jabs into the face. Two more jabs. Good left hook counter from Hooker. Iaquinta’s movement is hampered severely, and he’s fighting mostly from Southpaw. A hard calf kick forces a bad takedown attempt from “Raging Al.” Iaquinta swings wide with a right and misses. Two right hands score for Iaquinta. Both men land simultaneous hooks. A calf kick draws a limp from Iaquinta. Jab from Hooker. Iaquinta attempts another single leg takedown. He manages to hit a sit-out and transition into better takedown position, but Hooker still denies the shot. Back in the center, Hooker drops Iaquinta with a nasty right hook. Iaquinta’s arm is trapped on the mat, and he eats a few punches. However, he’s able to work a half guard sweep, which results in him finishing the round attempting a heel hook.
10-9 Hooker
Round 3: Hooker attacks the body early then lands a left hook. Nice left hand scores for Iaquinta from the Southpaw stance. Cross connects for Hooker. Hard jab from Hooker then a nice check hook. Good cross from Iaquinta. More left hands from Hooker. Hard left elbow counter too. Good left body kick from Hooker, who pays him back with jab and left hook counters. Iaquinta dives towards a single leg and is stuffed. High kick from Hooker is blocked. Hard right hand scores for Iaquinta. Nice low kick for the New Yorker. More stiff jabs from Hooker. Hooker calf kicking the right leg of Iaquinta too now. Iaquinta’s face is destroyed from his foe’s jabs, yet he still shuffles forward in the Southpaw stance. Hooker digs to the body with a right. Iaquinta is reaching for the jaw but cannot find it. He falls to the ground from another low kick. Hooker sticks him with a couple more jabs before the bell.
30-26 Hooker on my scorecard!
Final result: Dan Hooker def. Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
265 lbs.: Sergey Spivak vs. Tai Tuivasa
Round 1: An early right low kick sweeps Spivak to the back, but the Aussie lets him back up. Spivak scored with a right hand over the top. Another low kick lands for Tuivasa. Spivac blocks a heavy overhand. Spivac catches a low kick and scores a takedown. Tuivasa forces his way to the fence, wall-walks to his feet. One more low kick from the Aussie. Tuivasa lands a left, eats a front kick. Big elbow from Tuivasa scores on the side of the head. Spivak lands a headlock throw, but Tuivasa escapes immediately. Tuivasa unloads on his foe along the fence. Spivak converts another low kick into a takedown, and we’re only halfway through a very active round.
Spivak passes guard, but Tuivasa scrambles back to his feet. Right hand lands for Spivak. A heavy headlock throw lands for Spivak, who hit the mat hard. Spivak attempts to apply a neck crank from the headlock position, but it allows Tuivasa to escape — for the third time! Also for the third time, Tuivasa is taken down off a naked low kick.
10-9 Spivak
Round 2: Spivak lands a right hand to open the round. A couple jabs touch Tuivasa’s chin, then Spivak dives into a double leg takedown that plants Tuivasa on the mat. He’s not able to keep the Aussie down though, and Tuivasa lands a nice elbow in the clinch. Big right hand lands for Spivak. Tuivasa swings wildly and is taken down once again. Spivak advances into mount, briefly threatens with an arm triangle choke. Spivac opens up with elbows and punches, opening up a nasty cut on his opponent’s forehead. Spivak returns to the arm triangle choke once more, and this time he puts “Bam Bam” to sleep!
Final result: Sergei Spivak def. Tai Tuivasa by second-round submission
170 lbs.: Luke Jumeau vs. Dhiego Lima
Round 1: Both fighters touched gloves to get the action started. Lima circling, looking for angles. Jumeau landed a solid outside leg kick to get on the scoreboard. Lima responded in-kind … twice. Lima landed a glancing left hook that appeared to redden Jumeau’s nose. Lima with another outside low kick as Jumeau fired off another one of his own as well. Lima appeared to catch a finger in the eye, forcing a brief stoppage in the action. After a quick check from the ringside physician, the action resumed. Jumeau with a punch-kick combination, but Lima landed another low kick that appeared to start paying dividends. Jumeau landed a right hand, but Lima countered with an even better left cross. It was a very pedestrian round — not much going on besides Lima’s leg attacks. 10-9 Lima.
Round 2: Jumeau came out for the second more aggressive, but Lima countered with another low kick that hurt Jumeau. He tried to fire one back, but Lima caught it and dragged him the floor momentarily. Back on the feet, Jumeau throwing lazy hooks that aren’t doing much. He went for another low kick and Lima caught it again and put him on the ground again. Mid-point of the round, Lima scores another leg kick, which he followed up with a looping left hand. Jumeau attempting to trap Lima in a corner, but Lima is just one step ahead. Jumeau jumped in with a right uppercut that appeared to wobble Lima, and suddenly a fight broke out. The pair exchanged the first hard shots of the fight before Lima was able to get Jumeau on the canvas, drilling him with some short left hands along the bottom the cage. 10-9 Lima.
Round 3: Jumeau’s corner informed him that he had work to do if he wanted to win. Lima landed another hard leg kick and then a nice left cross. Jumeau looked to push the pace, but he really could not get anything going — Lima just circled away. Lima pressed Jumeau up against the fence and looked like he was going to attempt a takedown but instead just tied up along the cage to kill time. Jumeau landed a nice uppercut and Lima countered with a hard shot of his own. Lima dove in for a takedown with about one minute remaining in the match, but Jumeau defended well. Jumeau continued to chase Lima around the Octagon, but it was more of the same — Lima circling and countering en route to a decision win.
Final result: Dhiego Lima def. Luke Jumeau via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-29)
265 lbs.: Yorgan De Castro vs. Justin Tafa
Round 1: De Castro opened up with a right hand but Tafa countered with a left. De Castro followed up with a hard knee to the body. Tafa reverses position and presses De Castro against the cage. Two minutes down. Knee inside by De Castro and the action splits. Uppercut by Tafa. Tafa pursues and De Castro counters with a right hand for the knockout finish.
Final result: De Castro def. Tafa by first-round KO
170 lbs.: Rostem Akman vs. Jake Matthews
Round 1: Low kicks land for Matthews. One minute in. Counter right lands for Akman. One minute in. Matthews looks for a head kick. Double left by Akman. Straight left connects to counter a kick. Two minutes in. Right cross by Matthews. Slow fight. Two minutes to go.
Matthews digs in a body shot. Matthews lead right, left hook. 2-3 from Akman. Matthews doubles up the right, connects. One minute to go. Nothing much happens. 10-9 Matthews.
Round 2: Akman advancing, Matthews circling. Matthews darts in with a good lead right. Cross counter from Akhman. Glancing counter right. One minute in. Low kick by Akman. 2-3. Matthews low kick. Akman counter right. Matthews head kick blocked. Two minutes in. Leg kick lands. Good right hands inside by Matthews. Both whiff on overhand rights. Two minutes to go.
Matthews goes low-high. Akman looks for a knee. 3-2 misses. Next one lands. Counter two-piece from Matthews. One minute to go. Another counter right connects. Good combination and body kick. Low kick lands. Counter body shots. 10-9 Matthews.
Round 3: This is painfully dull. Both men missing with their biggest shots. Lead right from Matthews, clinch a minute in. Both flurry, neither connects. Two minutes in. Matthews to the body. Matthews upping his volume, still not connecting all that much. Akman with a knee. Two minutes to go.
Matthews grabs a rear waistlock as Akman overextends. Matthews lands in the clinch before they separate. Akman whiffs on an overhand and eats some rights. One minute to go. Good counter right from Matthews. He changes levels, looks for a rear waistlock. Akman avoids it, can’t separate. He looks for a hopeless guillotine. 10-9 Matthews.
Final result: Matthews def. Akman by unanimous decision
170 lbs.: Maki Pitolo vs. Callan Potter
Round 1: Potter fakes a shot, fires a jab. Low kick from Pitolo. Left hooks land for Potter and he hurts Pitolo with a right before tying up. They separate. Uppercut-straight by Pitolo, hard body shot. Left hooks ding Potter and they’re slugging it out, both landing huge. Uppercut jacks Potter’s jaw and Pitolo unloads, only to get cracked by a pair of left hooks. He avoids a trip attempt to take him down into guard. Looking for Potter’s back as he stands.He gets the back and wraps up the RNC, but slips off the side. Potter on top. Two minutes to go.
Pitolo works his way up, looks for a guillotine, gets slammed into north-south. Pitolo stands and they get back to slugging, Left hook hurts Pitolo. Jabs, uppercut and left hook land for him. Potter comes back with an overhand right. One minute to go. Knees from Potter against the fence. 10-9 Potter.
Round 2: Pitolo with a counter right early. More rights, takes a left hook. Another lead right. Pitolo the busier in the early going. Body kick, left hook, eats a leg kick. one minute in. 2-3 from Pitolo, keeping up the volume. Potter lands a left hook and a knee downstairs. Pitolo with a pair of hooks in return. Body kick from Pitolo met by an elbow. Pitolo gets double underhooks and puts his back on the fence two minutes in. Potter gets an underhook and reverses. Pitolo reverses in turn, gets reversed. Short knees from Potter. Two minutes to go.
Ref breaks them up. Combination from Pitolo, Potter knee and now he’s throwing hard. They’re slugging on the fence. One minute to go. Hard elbows by Potter. Ref separates them and they go back to trading. 10-9 Potter.
Round 3: Pitolo tries a jump knee, gets taken down into guard. Potter looks for the back, can’t get it. They stand and separate a minute in. Potter wading forward, Pitolo bouncing combos off his guard. Potter ties up and hits a lateral drop into half guard. He passes to side control, then mount. Two minutes in. Back to half guard. Two minutes to go.
Potter chipping away with short left hands. Full mount. One minute to go. More short shots from Potter until the bell. 10-9 Potter.
Final result: Potter def. Pitolo by unanimous decision
155 lbs.: Jamie Mullarkey vs. Brad Riddell
Round 1: Mullarkey opens with an inside low kick, lands a jab soon after. Counter right lands for Riddell. He answers a leg kick with one of his own. Left hook connects. One minute in. Riddell sending out jabs, lands a leg kick and a counter right. Mullarkey’s nose is already reddened. Another leg kick from Riddell. Hard left hook. 1-1-2. Another hard hook two minutes in. Low kick from Riddell. Jab lands for Mullarkey and he shoots. Riddell stuffs it, gets pressed against the fence. Two minutes to go.
Over-unders. They separate. One minute to go. He briefly slips. Jab to the body. Heavy 2-3 connects. Body shots. double hook. They trade in the center. 10-9 Riddell.
Round 2: Riddell tries a 1-1-2 and head kick. Mullarkey lands a jab. Riddell sporting a cut above his right eye. Mullarkey shoots as Riddell throws a low kick, gets him down, does so again after Riddell stands. Mullarkey tries a rear waist lock, nearly ends up on the bottom a minute in. They separate. Trading punches in the center. Mullarkey catches a body kick for a takedown into guard a minute in. Now half guard. Riddell hits a nice sweep into side control two minutes in. Mullarkey spins into a single-leg attempt, takes him to the fence. Riddell defends and separates with two minutes to go.
Hard leg kick from Riddell. Big left hook cracks Mullarkey as they exchange. Mullarkey shoots, sprawled on. He ducks an elbow for another takedown attempt, only for Riddell to land on top in mount with a minute to go. Hard elbow. Riddell looking for the back. Mullarkey manages to spin into guard and land a nice elbow. 10-9 Riddell.
Round 3: Riddell bounces a combination off his guard, spins him around with a leg kick. Counter left lands for Mullarkey. Mullarkey shoots, stuffed, then Riddell hits a reactive takedown in return. He lets Mullarkey up after landing a few shots a minute in. Big 3-2, another left hook by Riddell. Mullarkey throwing with him, eats some big right hands. They’re slugging. Riddell follows up a body shot with a huge elbow and the brawl continues. Suddenly. Mullerky blasts him with a left hook that visibly hurts him and manages to take his back. The choke looks nearly in, but Riddell manages to survive and slip out the back door. Riddell responds with some ungodly left hooks and muscles him to the mat, landing more ridiculous punches. Mullarkey rolls to his knees and stands. Two minute to go.
Another series of monster shots from Riddell but Mullarkey isn’t even flinching. Mullarkey tries to shoot, denied, ends up on his back. More huge shots by Riddell. He stands and forces Mullarkey to do so as welll. Back to trading heat. Vicious body shots by Riddell. Mullarkey with elbows inside. One minute to go. Lead right and Mullarkey is flagging. Massie elbows and punches, then Riddell slips. Mullarkey powers through the punches for a takedown attempt, ends up on the bottom. Riddell lands one more insanely hard punch right before the bell. Jesus. 10-8 Riddell.
Final result: Riddell def. Mullarkey by unanimous decision
145 lbs.: Megan Anderson vs. Zarah Fairn dos Santos
Round 1: Fairn marches forward with 1-2s, eats an elbow from Anderson as the latter tie up. Anderson has a body lock, Fairn trying to punch her way out of it. Anderson completes the takedown into half guard. One minute in. Full mount against the fence. Staying tight. Still hasn’t done much two minutes in. Now she postures up for some elbows. Fairn sporting a cut. More elbows. Two minutes to go.
Fairn rolls, lands in top position. A soon as she ends up on her back, Anderson wraps up a triangle, forcing the tap despite her own arm being in the lock.
Final result: Anderson def. Fairn Dos Santos by submission (triangle choke)
115 lbs.: Nadia Kassem vs. Ji Yeon Kim
Round 1: Kassem opens with a side kick and charges after Kim, only to get crumpled by a check hook. She manages to stand and clinch, then separate. More kicks from Kassem. She ties up, lands an elbow. Kim has double underhooks, avoids a trip but falls victim to a lovely throw into guard a minute in. Kassem stands over her, which gives Kim room to stand. Kassem ties up again. Kassem body kick met by a Kim right hand. Hard left hook and body kick by Kim, then a counter right. They trade in the center. 1-2 from Kim on the fence. Superman punch from Kassem. Kim plodding after her as she circles. Two minutes to go.
Lead right from Kassem, Kim tries a combo in return. Kassem doing alright at range. One minute to go. Kim fires a flurry, Kassem catches a kick and puts her on the fence. Jockeying for position, trading knees. 10-9 Kim.
Round 2: Kim lands a pair of counter rights in the early going. Kassem still circling, moving a lot but not throwing much. One minute in. Kassem left, Kim flurry. Kassem sending out kicks to the body, backs away from a flurry. Wild spinning back fist attempt. Hard punches by Kim two minutes in, elbow after Kassem ties up. Kim tries to step in with a right hand. Side kick from Kassem. Kim lands a series of right hands that knock Kassem’s mouthpiece out and the ref immediately intervenes without waiting for a break. Two minutes to go.
Kim continues to press forward and bang away with right hands. Heavy exchange on the fence. Straight right knocks Kassem back. Kassem sending out more side kicks. Kim with a series of 1-2s. One minute to go. Kim counterrs a pair of kicks with a right cross. Another one upstairs and she’s on the attack. Kassem looking tired as Kim continues to bang away. Kim refusing to let up against the fence. Two huge body shots and down goes Kassem.
Final result: Kim def. Kassem by TKO (punches)
135 lbs.: Bruno Silva vs. Khalid Taha
Round 1: Silva opens with a calf kick. Lots of feinting, Silva switching stance. They trade and Taha drops him with a left hook. Silva pops back up a minute in and puts him on the fence. He can’t get anything going and Taha circles away. Two minutes in. Still lots of feints from both men but Taha swinging hard. Silva misses with an overhand. Combination lands for him, tries a front kick and avoids some big swings. Two minutes to go.
Silva body kick, lands a counter as Taha responds in kind. BIG overhand right by Taha and he ups his pursuit before taking a shin to the balls. Silva goes for a wheel kick and a takedown attempt when they resume. Taha marches forward and Silva puts him on the fence with a minute to go. Silva lands a meaty knee directly to the nuts that makes a deeply unpleasant sound. Taha takes some time to recover, then marches after him throwing heat. Silva misses a spinning back fist, they trade, Silva grabs a body lock and puts him on the fence again. 10-9 Taha.
Round 2: Silva sending out some early kicks, gets dropped by a right hand. He nearly takes an illegal kick to the face, tries to shoot before separating as he eats elbows. Taha still chasing him. Silva catches a kick for a single-leg attempt. He runs the pipe into guard. One minute in. Solid punches from Silva. He postures up, lands some more good shots. Upkick from Taha but Silva passes to side control. Back to half guard. Taha looking for deep half guard, can’t get it. Two minutes to go.
Back to full guard, more short blows by Silva. Taha tries another upkick. One minute to go, back to half guard. Taha rolls to his knees, Silva counters with a cradle. Round ends there. 10-9 Silva.
Round 3: Silva catches a leg kick and hits an outside trip. Taha nearly takes top position, stands instead. Silva pressing him against the fence. One minute in. Knee from Taha as he defends a level change. He snaps Silva down, has to fight off a single-leg and does so. Two minutes to go. Taha marching forward, sprawls on a shot and starts pounding him. Looking for the back, then an arm triangle. He’s got it and there’s the tap. 10-9 Taha.
Final result: