UFC 243 took place at Marvel Stadium on Saturday with the main event featuring Robert Whittaker fighting Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title. The event saw a new record for attendance with over 57,000 in attendance.
UFC officials announced attendance at 57,127 with a gate of $5,470,000. Bonus winners for Saturday included Adesanya with his 2nd round stoppage of the former champion, Yorgan de Castro who had a sharp KO of Justin Tafa. Brad Riddell and Jamie Mullarkey earned Fight of the Night Honors with a brutal back and forth fight that saw Riddell win via unanimous decision.
Payout Perspective:
The attendance and gate are a testament to how popular the sport is in Melbourne. The previous record was at UFC 193 with 56,214 fans at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. That card saw Ronda Rousey lose to Holly Holm for the first time in November 2015. This fight card was stacked with fighters from the region and topped by Whittaker and Adesanya. The fans saw a great matchup which unified the middleweight title and Adesanya showed why he is now at the top of the food chain in the division.
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