UFC 243 Attendance, Gate, Bonuses
UFC 243 has set the record for the most-attended UFC event ever, with 57,127 people filling Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, for the card.
The gate for UFC 243 came out to $8,088,661 in Australian dollars ($5,478,345 in US currency).
Performance bonuses went to new UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and Yorgan De Castro.
Adesanya survived a barrage of punches from Robert Whittaker over two rounds to drop him for a knockout to remain undefeated and unify the championship.
"You know who’s next. I have a heavy Ricky Martin wannabe next. Borrachinha. This is my Octagon. I’m going to smash him. I want to rearrange his face."@Stylebender after securing the @UFC middleweight championship by knocking out Robert Whittaker at #UFC243. pic.twitter.com/M13wYyzD0B
— UFC News (@UFCNews) October 6, 2019
De Castro opened the night in a heavyweight war with fellow Octagon debutant Justin Tafa. De Castro blasted Tafa with a counter hook that dropped Tafa out cold in the first round.
The televised prelim bout between Brad Riddell and Jamie Mullarkey was named Fight of the Night. After each man seemed to take a round heading into the third, that last round saw both men empty the gas tank and throw heavy leather, with each rocking the other. Riddell, however, got the better of Mullarkey and nearly could have gotten the finish, which led to the judges pointing the cards in his favor.