UFC 243 free fight: Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero go to war in Chicago

When Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero stepped into the cage at UFC 225 in June 2018, the MMA universe was treated to an absolute battle.

The main event bout in Chicago was the second meeting between Whittaker and Romero. In their initial contest, Whittaker bested Romero by five-round unanimous decision at UFC 213 in July 2017.

In the rematch, Whittaker repeated the decision, but not without some difficulty. Romero had Whittaker rocked at multiple points in the fight and appeared to be close to finishing the champion.

However, the Australian’s toughness shined through. Whittaker was able to use his slick technical striking and well-rounded game to best the Cuban by split decision. The bout was widely considered by many to be one of the UFC’s best of 2018.

With his injuries and a battle with depression behind him, Whittaker (20-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) returns to the cage at UFC 243, when he competes against interim champ Israel Adesanya (17-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in a title unification bout.

UFC 243 takes place Saturday (Sunday locally) at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Ahead of his UFC 243 main event contest against Israel Adesanya, relive Robert Whittaker’s UFC 225 battle with Yoel Romero in the video above.