Israel Adesanya's UFC middleweight title unification fight against Robert Whittaker finally has a venue.
The 60,000-seat Marvel Stadium in Melbourne will host what the promotion is calling the biggest combat sports fight in Australasian history.
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The fight will clash with the NRL Grand Final on October 6, although the fight should be finished well in advance of kick-off in Sydney.
Adesanya is undefeated in mixed martial arts and is coming off a fight of the year candidate against Kelvin Gastelum earlier this year - a fight in which the 'Last Stylebender' claimed the UFC interim middleweight title.
Whittaker has never defended his middleweight title once since being crowned champion with a unanimous decision win over Yoel Romero in July 2017.
Injury has hampered Whittaker's career of late - the Australian fighting just five times since 2016.
"The Reaper" is undefeated as a middleweight since 2014, scoring impressive stoppage wins over Derek Brunson and Ronaldo Souza, while also defeating Romero twice.
Adesanya is 6-0 inside the octagon, fighting an incredible six times in 17 months and has scored a decision win over the greatest middleweight of all time, Anderson Silva.
Teammate Dan 'Hangman' Hooker is also expected to be part of UFC 243, having demanded a spot on the card following his stunning knockout win over James Vick last weekend.
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