Join us today on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring, and play-by-play as UFC 243 goes down in Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
The main event will be a UFC middleweight title unification bout between full champ Robert Whittaker and interim champ Israel Adesanya. The co-main will come in the lightweight division, with Al Iaquinta taking on Dan Hooker.
The featured prelim comes at welterweight, with Jake Matthews meeting Rostem Akman.
This post will cover the preliminary card.
The show is in Australia, but we’re running at regular North American times. We’ll start on Fight Pass at approximately 6:45pm ET with two fights. The card then moves to ESPN2 at 8pm ET for four more bouts, then onto the main PPV card at 10pm ET. The full lineup and schedule follows. The main card will be covered in a separate post.
Check out this week’s MMA Vivisection for predictions, analysis and betting odds on the each matchup.
Jake Matthews vs. Rostem Akman
Round 1 – Slow start. Leg kick from Matthews. Matthews with a left. Akman with a strafing left. Akman lands a left as Matthews throws a front kick. Right over the top from Matthews. Matthews missing from range. Nice body shot there though. Another glancing right from Matthews. One shot at a time. Akman with a left. Matthews with another right over the top. Matthews with a combo. Finally. Bit of a nothing round. 10-9 Matthews.
Round 2 – Matthews with a quick right that staggers Akman a bit. He recovers. Akman with a counter right. Matthews gets a left through. Akman bringing a bit more pressure but Matthews backs him off with a right hook. Both miss in close. Akman with a kick but eats a left hook. They both land at the same time. Akman teeing off with right hooks but missing. Nice short counter from Matthews. Front kick to the belly from Matthews. Hard counter to the gut from Matthews. Inside leg kick. Body kick and he presses forward at the horn. Easy 10-9 Matthews.
Round 3 – Hard straight left from Matthews. Inside leg kick. Counter to the body from the Australian fighter. The crowd is silent. Matthews with some short shots inside. Akman isn’t landing anything he’s throwing, and he’s not bringing any pressure. When he does, he eats counters. Uppercut from Matthews. Jab. Body jab. Quick left. Outside leg kick. He’s doing everything and Akman has no real response. Akman spins and Matthews tries to drag him to the mat. Akman reverses against the cage, but Matthews pops him on the chin and they separate. Counter from Matthews again. Akman finally scores a left, but Matthews fires right back. Matthews grabs his back again but Akman shucks him off. 10-8 and 30-26 Matthews.
Jake Matthews defeated Rostem Akman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Round 1 – Pitolo connects with an early left. Potter changing levels. Counter left from Potter. He lands a hard left and clinches. Pitolo gets back to range quickly. Pitolo with a combo. They both land two big punches in a row and chuck down in the pocket! Pitolo lands a hard right. Potter with a left that backs Pitolo off! Pitolo ends up on top after they engage in close though. They get against the cage and Pitolo tries to attack a choke with one hook. Potter reverses. They get back up and Pitolo looks for a guillotine, but is slammed hard to the mat. They’re back up and engaging in close. Potter with a hard left hook. Pitolo with a two-punch combo to the chin, but Potter fires back with a right. Potter with a high knee in close. 10-9 Potter.
Round 2 – Pitolo catches him coming in with a punch. Left hook. Pitolo jabbing. High body kick. Potter with a leg kick. Potter with a left. Pitolo with some pitter-pat shots. Two left hooks from Pitolo. Pitolo looks for a trip but can’t get it. They reverse positions against the cage a couple of times. Not much happening. The ref finally breaks them with 1:35 to go. They trade left hooks. Potter presses with big punches! He lands about five hooks in a row. Pitolo just takes them and fires back. They clinch again. Hard elbow from Potter over the top. They trade knees. The ref separates them. Pitolo with an uppercut. 10-9 Potter.
Round 3 – Jump knee from Pitolo. Potter gets a quick takedown. Pitolo starts to get up and Potter looks for a sub, which gives up position. They’re on their feet with Pitolo on his back against the cage. They go back to the center. Uppercut from Pitolo. Left hook from Potter. Pitolo with a combo. Potter with a lateral drop takedown. He’s working from half. He’s trying to mount but Pitolo is using the fence to keep that from happening. Not much going on here. He steps over into mount with a minute to go. Pitolo is just holding on. Potter with a few punches. Shoulder checks. 10-9 and 30-27 Potter.
Callan Potter defeated Maki Potolo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jamie Mullarkey vs. Brad Riddell
Round 1 – Mullarkey with a jab. Another. Riddell with an overhand right. They trade low kicks. They trade jabs. Riddell with a combo punctuated by a leg kick. Mullarkey with a shovel hook. Combo from Riddell. Mullarkey responds. Head kick from Riddell, and a low kick. Jab from Mullarkey and he shoots. Riddell defends. They stall out against the fence before breaking with 1:10 to go. Riddell slips as he misses with a punch. Body punch from Riddell. Hard combo from Riddell. Counter to the body from Riddell. Left hook too. 10-9 Riddell.
Round 2 – Jab from Mullarkey. Riddell has a cut over his left eye. Mullarkey level changes and eventually gets a takedown. He climbs onto Riddell’s back as he gets up, and tries to drag him back down again. No dice and they separate. Mullarkey with a left and a low kick. Mullarkey catches a kick and chops out the back leg to put Riddell on the mat. He can’t get Riddell flattened out though. Riddell scrambles to the top after 20 seconds or so, and he’s in side. Mullarkey circles out to his feet and immediately looks for his own takedown again. They separate with two minutes to go. Hard low kick from Riddell. They may have clashed heads. Riddell with two hard left hooks. Mullarkey shoots but is rebuffed. An elbow lands and Riddell falls right into mount. Mullarkey gives up his back but Riddell is up high. He lands a few punches. He looks for a choke, but he’s too high. Mullarkey comes out the back and is on top. Both are bleeding. 10-9 Riddell.
Round 3 – Riddell with a combo and low kick. Left and a knee too, but Mullarkey counters this time. Mullarkey with a jab and shoots in, but nothing there. He misses with a big punch and Riddell double-legs him to the mat. He lands a few punches and lets him up. Big combo from Riddell. Mullarkey fires back. Body shot from Riddell. They’re hockey fighting now! Mullarkey lands a HUGE shot and rocks Riddell! He pushes him to the mat and looks for the choke! It’s not there and Mullarkey gives it up. They tap gloves and go right back to brawling! Riddell with two huge shots! Mullarkey is on his back and Riddell with monster shots on the ground! They’re back up! Riddell with three lefts. Mullarkey’s face is a mess. He dives in on a shot but Riddell puts him on his back. Huge elbow. Mullarkey still surviving. Riddell backs off and lets him up. Mullarkey slow to rise. They both land big shots again! Body shot from Riddell. Riddell with a MONSTER right hook and a left! How is Mullarkey standing?! He pushes Riddell to the mat! Riddell gets up and dumps him to the ground landing punches. They’re both gasse. This will go the distance. Riddell lands a hard right hook from his knees at the horn! My god what a round! Riddell 10-8 and 30-26 overall. Wow.
Brad Riddell defeated Jamie Mullarkey via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Megan Anderson vs. Zarah Fairn
Round 1 – Fairn presses with strikes immediately. Anderson spins her around against the cage. Anderson gets a body lock but can’t get Fairn to the floor. This time it works. She steps over into a partial mount against the cage. She slides up on the legs to secure full mount. Fairn can’t buck her off. Anderson lands a few punches. Now she’s postured up and lands a few more punches. Fairn is cut from an elbow. Another elbow. Fairn powers her way up but she’s in a triangle. Anderson dumps her to the side, still in the submission, and gets the tap.
Megan Anderson defeated Zarah Fairn via submission (triangle choke), 3:57 of round 1
Round 1 – Kassem goes to touch gloves but throws a kick. Kim clubs her with a left hook and drops her! She deserved that. She’s back up though and they reset. Kim with a body kick, Kassem with a left. They clinch. Elbow from Kassem. She looks for a trip and can’t get it, so she hit a throw instead. She’s working from the top. Kim looking to upkick and she’s up. Kassem with a right as they separate. Kim lands a hard left, and a right counter. Kassem lands a couple of kicks. Kim with a combo. Kassem with a hard shot. Kim with a counter right off a kick. Front kick from Kassem. Inside leg kick from Kassem. Kassem with a combo. Leg kick as well. Kassem lads a knee inside. They trade knees in the clinch. 10-9 Kassem.
Round 2 – Kassem eats a right as she throws a kick. They trade in the pocket. Front kick to the body from Kassem. Slower pace this round. Side kick from Kassem and she misses with a spinning back fist. Kim lands with both hands. They throw some weak kicks. Kim with a combo and Kassem’s mouthpiece came out. The ref stops it right away, while Kim is still attacking, and puts it in before resetting them. Not a good call. They get back to brawling though. Kim gets the best of it. Front kicks to the body from Kassem. Kim wades into range with a combo. Hard right from Kim. Another combo. Kassem is circling. Kim all over her! Kassem isn’t defending but the ref lets it go, and she puts her hands back up. She’s turning away from a ton of punches. Finally Kim goes to the body with two vicious body shots and Kassem collapses. It’s over!
Ji Yeon Kim defeated Nadia Kassem via TKO (body shots), 4:59 of round 2
Round 1 – Bit of feinting to start. Low kick from Silva. Both are switching stances. Taha misses with a leg kick. They trade big shots and Silva goes down via a Taha left hook. He’s up right away and clinches though. They trade light knees. They separate. Silva lands to the body. Taha with a body kick. Silva lands a right. Taha lands a counter, then just misses with a right hook. Body kick from Silva, and he lands to the body. Huge right hook from Taha. Silva takes it, but lands a cup check. Cornuts cam confirms a grazing shot. Low kick from Silva on the restart, and he wrestles. Taha defends. Another low blow on Taha, this time a knee. Yikes. He’s in a lot of pain this time. No point taken again. Taha takes about two minutes and restarts. He lands a body kick as Silva spins. He looks fo a late takedown but couldn’t get it. 10-9 Taha.
Round 2 – Immediate body kick from Silva. Taha drops Silva with a shot! He JUST missed with a totally illegal kick on the ground. Silva gets up and backs off. He charges in for a single-leg and eventually drags Taha to the mat a minute in. Silva postures up in full guard and lands a few punches. Taha with an upick but Silva uses it to pass to side. He goes back to half on his own. Weird. He lands a few shots here and there but not a lot happening. Taha lands a partial upkick. Knee to the body from Silva. Taha squirms to his knees, but Silva controls with a front headlock. Knee to the body from Silva again. 10-9 Silva.
Round 3 – Low kick from Taha. Silva gets a body lock and a takedown. Taha scoots to his feet quickly this time though. Silva holds him against the fence. Taha with a knee on the inside. Taha looks for his own takedown but there’s nothing there. They spin around and separate. Taha with a kick and a right cross. Silva with a counter shot and he shoots. Taha stuffs him and lands big elbows and punches. He’s on Silva’s back. He sinks a hook. Silva spins around and Taha immediately secures an arm-triangle choke. It’s in deep, and Silva taps!
Khalid Taha defeated Bruno Silva via submission (arm-triangle choke), 3:00 of round 3
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