MMASucka staff picks are in for UFC 243 taking place tonight, October 5th from the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria. The five-fight main card portion will begin live on pay-per-view at 10:00pm ET (7:00pm PT). To check out our picks from last night’s Bellator 229 main card, click the link here.
The Fights
One of the best fights of 2019 sees the UFC middleweight championship on the line between current king Robert Whittaker and interim champion Israel Adesanya. This title pairing comes as a unification bout.
Whittaker currently rides a nine-fight win streak dating back to June of 2014, thirteen of those victories coming at 185 pounds. The former TUF winner claimed the interim middleweight belt in 2017 defeating Yoel Romero by decision, later being promoted to ‘champ-status’ after Georges St-Pierre vacated. A rematch with Romero was then scheduled for Whittaker’s first title defense; that was, until Romero missed weight the day before the fight. The fight would go on and deliver just like their first, Whittaker taking a slightly controversial split decision in the end. With a victory, the youthful 28-year-old will put himself again in talks as the pound-for-pound king of the UFC.
Undefeated Israel Adesanya will try to be the guy to spoil Whittaker’s party in Australia. Before his promotional debut last year, not many mixed martial arts fans knew of the former boxer and kickboxer. A 4-0 calendar year UFC run in 2018 ended with a first-round knockout over Derek Brunson. The Nigerian-New Zealander’s first fight of 2019 saw a technical decision win over the legendary Anderson Silva. His most recent fight came in April against Kelvin Gastelum for the interim belt, and after 25 thrilling minutes, he’d edge out the unanimous decision. Adesanya will look for his seventeenth straight professional MMA victory and a potential fourteenth by way of knockout.
Lightweight strikers Al Iaquinta and Dan Hooker will meet in the night’s co-main event. Iaquinta hopes to rebound after a recent main event decision loss to Donald Cerrone while Hooker looks for back-to-back first-round knockouts in 2019.
See the remaining main card UFC 243 fights below.
Staff Picks
Throughout the year, staff picks will be composed of four different MMA promotions: UFC, Bellator, ONE, and RIZIN. Main cards will make up both UFC and Bellator picks, while the biggest fights to make up ONE and RIZIN events will be used. The WINNER of staff picks will have a choice between receiving a championship belt from ProAmBelts or a championship chain from Championship Chains. The 2018 winner was awarded to Michael DeSantis, compiling a record of 202-101.
Check out our MMASucka staff picks for UFC 243 below.
Staff Records after UFC Fight Night 160 & Bellator 228:
1T. Michael DeSantis: 223-120
1T. Connor Deitrich: 223-120
3. Mitchell Banuelos: 211-120
4. Ed Gallo: 210-129
5. Mike Skytte: 205-138
6. Jeremy Brand: 200-143
7. Matt Bricker: 192-138
8. Ash Camyab: 180-131
9. Brian Gerson: 176-99
10. Ryan Wagner: 169-83
11. Patrick Auger: 157-119
12. Frazer Krohn: 106-69
13. Ryan Hobbs: 89-76
14. Ryan Fortune: 78-39
15. Andrew Benjamin: 67-50
16. McKenzie Guardiero: 65-50
17. Suraj Sukumar: 58-26
18. Tanner Russ: 29-12
19. Dan Rose: 15-12
*Bellator 229 picks have not been added*
Justin Tafa (3-0) vs. Yorgan De Castro (5-0)
Jeremy Brand: De Castro via UD
Mike Skytte: De Castro via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: De Castro via Round 2 TKO
Mitchell Banuelos: De Castro via UD
Ed Gallo: De Castro via Round 1 TKO
Matt Bricker: De Castro via Round 1 TKO
Connor Deitrich: De Castro via Round 2 TKO
Ash Camyab: Tafa via Round 1 TKO
Ryan Hobbs: Tafa via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: De Castro via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Tafa via Round 2 TKO
Tanner Russ: Tafa via Round 1 TKO
Dan Rose: De Castro via Round 3 TKO
Mike Lynch: De Castro via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Tafa: 4
Staff picking De Castro: 10
Luke Jumeau (13-4) vs. Dhiego Lima (14-7)
Jeremy Brand: Lima via Round 2 TKO
Mike Skytte: Lima via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Lima via UD
Mitchell Banuelos: Lima via Round 1 TKO
Ed Gallo: Lima via UD
Matt Bricker: Lima via UD
Connor Deitrich: Lima via Round 1 TKO
Ash Camyab: Lima via Round 2 TKO
Ryan Hobbs: Lima via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Lima via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Lima via UD
Tanner Russ: Jumeau via Round 1 TKO
Dan Rose: Jumeau via UD
Mike Lynch: Lima via UD
Staff picking Jumeau: 2
Staff picking Lima: 12
Tai Tuivasa (8-2) vs. Sergey Spivak (9-1)
Jeremy Brand: Tuivasa via UD
Mike Skytte: Tuivasa via SD
Michael DeSantis: Tuivasa via Round 1 TKO
Mitchell Banuelos: Tuivasa via UD
Ed Gallo: Tuivasa via UD
Matt Bricker: Tuivasa via UD
Connor Deitrich: Tuivasa via Round 1 TKO
Ash Camyab: Tuivasa via Round 2 TKO
Ryan Hobbs: Tuivasa via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Spivak via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Tuivasa via Round 1 TKO
Tanner Russ: Tuivasa via Round 1 TKO
Dan Rose: Tuivasa via Round 1 TKO
Mike Lynch: Tuivasa via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Tuivasa: 13
Staff picking Spivak: 1
Al Iaquinta (14-5-1) vs. Dan Hooker (18-8)
Jeremy Brand: Iaquinta via UD
Mike Skytte: Hooker via UD
Michael DeSantis: Hooker via UD
Mitchell Banuelos: Hooker via Round 3 TKO
Ed Gallo: Hooker via Round 3 TKO
Matt Bricker: Iaquinta via UD
Connor Deitrich: Hooker via UD
Ash Camyab: Hooker via UD
Ryan Hobbs: Iaquinta via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Hooker via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Iaquinta via SD
Tanner Russ: Hooker via Round 1 TKO
Dan Rose: Hooker via UD
Mike Lynch: Iaquinta via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Iaquinta: 5
Staff picking Hooker: 9
UFC 243 Main Event Robert Whittaker (20-4) vs. Israel Adesanya (17-0)
Jeremy Brand: Whittaker via Round 3 TKO
Mike Skytte: Adesanya via UD
Michael DeSantis: Whittaker via Round 3 TKO
Mitchell Banuelos: Adesanya via UD
Ed Gallo: Whittaker via Round 4 TKO
Matt Bricker: Adesanya via Round 3 TKO
Connor Deitrich: Whittaker via Round 2 TKO
Ash Camyab: Whittaker via Round 5 TKO
Ryan Hobbs: Adesanya via Round 3 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Whittaker via UD
Frazer Krohn: Whittaker via UD
Tanner Russ: Adesanya via UD
Dan Rose: Whittaker via Round 3 TKO
Mike Lynch:
Staff picking Whittaker:
Staff picking Adesanya:
UFC 243 FEATURED IMAGE:
Embed from Getty Images
