Getty
You can buy the UFC 243 PPV through ESPN+ right here. For pricing details and an event preview, read on below.
UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and interim champion Israel Adesanya will unify the title in the headliner at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia.
While the event starts Sunday locally, the early prelims (6:45 p.m. ET), prelims (8 p.m. ET) and main card (10 p.m. ET) will be on their normal Saturday times in the United States.
If you want to order UFC 243 to watch the fights, you can purchase it here exclusively through ESPN+. There are a couple of different pricing options, so here’s a rundown on how to buy the UFC 243 PPV, which is on sale right now:
How to Order UFC 243 PPV
You need a subscription to ESPN+ to purchase UFC 243, so your options for ordering are dependent on whether or not you’re already an ESPN+ subscriber:
If You Don’t Have ESPN+: You can get a special deal that includes a one-year subscription to ESPN+ ($49.99 value) and UFC 243 ($59.99 value) for just $79.98.
You can purchase that bundle right here, and you’ll then be able to watch the UFC 243 early prelims card (ESPN+) and the main card (ESPN+ PPV) on any of the ESPN digital platforms (more on that below)
If You Already Have ESPN+: You can buy UFC 243 right here for $59.99. You will also be given the option for the special bundle price if you simply want to extend your current ESPN+ subscription by a year and get UFC 243 for a total of $79.98.
Where to Watch UFC 243
Once you’re signed up for ESPN+ and you’ve purchased the PPV, there are a number of different ways you can watch Whittaker vs Adesanya and the UFC 243 main card.
You can watch the fights on your computer via ESPN.com, or you can watch on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other compatible streaming device via the ESPN app.
For all of those options, you’ll need to sign in with your ESPN+ account to watch.
UFC 243 Preview
Whittaker (20-4 in MMA, 11-2 in the UFC) is coming off the longest layoff of his career — the bout with Adesanya (17-0, 6-0) will be his first fight in 484 days.
“I do believe in ring rust if you’re not doing certain things to prepare yourself for competition,” the 28-year-old said in a September conference call, according to MMA Junkie. “If you’re not competing at all, if you haven’t competed at all and you’re not used to the adrenaline dump, not used to the pressure that comes with competing, then certainly the pressure is going to get to you and you might falter.
“I’ve been competing in jiu-jitsu, I’ve been competing in wrestling, I’ve been sparring in ways to increase the pressure and feel that. There’s ways to combat that. I also think once you reach a certain level — I know what to do. I’ve been there before, I’ve felt the pressure before, and I know that come October I’m going to walk in there and do my best.”
Whittaker, a 28-year-old Australian, claimed the interim middleweight strap with a unanimous-decision victory over Yoel Romero at UFC 213 in July 2017. Georges St-Pierre vacated the title in December of that year, and the UFC promoted Whittaker to undisputed champion.
He was to defend his belt in a rematch with Romero at UFC 225 in June 2018, but Romero missed weight, rendering their meeting a non-title bout. Whittaker bested him anyway via split decision in the fight of the night.
Whittaker hasn’t fought since. In February, he pulled out of a title defense against Kelvin Gastelum hours before UFC 234 to undergo emergency for an abdominal hernia and a twisted and collapsed bowel.
“I feel absolutely amazing,” Whittaker said, per MMA Junkie. “After that emergency surgery I just doubled down on my health. I put full attention on how I’m feeling, how I’m performing and just my overall health. On the back of that I’ve become stronger.”
With Whittaker sidelined, Adesanya took the interim title in a unanimous-decision victory over Gastelum at UFC 236 in April.
The 30-year-old also grew up in New Zealand, after moving from Nigeria with his family at the age of 13.
“For ring rust he can say what he has to say to keep him believing, but there’s a difference between fighting in front of 50 people in some hall and fighting in front of 60,000 people in a stadium,” Adesanya told MMA Fighting. “I’ve been active. He hasn’t. I have momentum on my side, he hasn’t.
“I really don’t care if he’s ring rusted or if he’s [not] — I’m just going to do what I do anyway. It doesn’t really matter what he’s bringing.”