Bobby Knuckles vs. The Last Stylebender is official.
The UFC announced Friday that Robert Whittaker will face Israel Adesanya in a middleweight title unification bout that will headline UFC 243 in early October.
The event will take place in Australia. Although the UFC did not list a venue, it has been rumoured to potentially take place at the outdoor Bankwest Stadium in New South Wales, Australia.
Whittaker was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, while Adesanya was born in Nigeria and moved to New Zealand as a young teen, so regardless of venue the atmosphere should be electric.
Adesanya (17-0) won the interim 185-pound title in April at UFC 236 by defeating Kelvin Gastelum in a tightly-contested, thrilling unanimous decision.
The win earned him a shot against Whittaker, who was originally scheduled to defend his title at UFC 234 against Gastelum but he had to withdraw from that event to undergo emergency dual surgery to fix an intestinal hernia and collapsed bowel.
Whittaker (20-4) has won nine in a row overall, including two straight over Yoel Romero — the most recent of which was in June 2018. The 28-year-old has won nine in a row overall but has competed only three times since 2016.
Both men are considered among the best strikers in all of mixed martial arts.
No other fights have been added to the card at this time.
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