By Liam Ducey
After months of rumours, speculation and outright prognostication, UFC have finally announced Melbourne's first event, UFC 193, will take place at Etihad Stadium – and for fans of the sport, the fight card is an absolute ripper.
Not only is the event a first for Melbourne, it could well be on track to eclipse UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, which set the record for the biggest crowd and gate in UFC history – a crowd of 55,724 and a gate of $12 million dollars.
Robbie Lawler trades blows with Johny Hendricks in their welterweight title fight during UFC 181.Credit: Getty Images
As the Brisbane Times reported earlier this month and the UFC officially confirmed on Thursday morning, the main event will be a welterweight title fight between reigning champion "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler and Carlos "The Natural Born Killer" Condit, the first UFC title fight to be held in Australia.
While that fight alone might not have been enough to sell out Etihad Stadium's 57,000 seats, the co-main event will go a long way to boosting the audience, with a rematch of the consensus greatest heavyweight clash in UFC history.
On December 7 at UFC Brisbane: Hunt v Silva, Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva battered each other for five rounds, with the contest eventually being ruled a majority draw.
Both fighters were sent to hospital as a precaution, with Hunt breaking both hands in the contest hailed as the greatest heavyweight fight of all time.
Since that bout, both fighters have seen their fortunes turn, with Hunt going 2-1, including losing an interim heavyweight title fight to now-UFC champion Fabricio Werdum by knockout and being absolutely mauled by rising American heavyweight Stipe Miocic over five rounds at UFC Adelaide in May this year.
Silva may be fresh off knocking out Hunt's training partner, Perth fighter Soa Palelei, on the undercard of Ronda Rousey's title clash with Brazilian Bethe Correia, however prior to that fight he had lost two fights by knockout in the first round.
Hunt will br the heavy favourite in the three-round rematch as Silva's ability to withstand punishment has taken a dive in the subsequent two years.
While Hunt is firmly embedded in the top 10 of his division, another Australian fighter will have the opportunity to break new ground as Robert Whittaker takes on one of the most successful fighters to never hold a UFC title, Manchester's Michael Bisping.
Having won two straight since making his middleweight debut, Whittaker is a star on the rise but Bisping is by far the toughest test of his career. It is historically proven that if a fighter can beat Bisping, he likely belongs in the top five of the division.
Other fights announced include young-gun Victorian Jake Matthews, looking to bounce back from his first professional loss as he takes on Mexican Akbarh Arreola in the lightweight division, while long-time UFC veteran, middleweight Australian Kyle Noke, will take on Polish submission machine Peter Sobotta.
New South Wales fan-favourite Anthony Perosh will face Gian Villante in the light heavyweight division, and three-time Australian Olympic judoka Dan Kelly will take on Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Ricardo Abreu.
The final fight announced will likely end the UFC career of one competitor, with Sydney's Richard Walsh taking on Perth fighter Steve Kennedy.
With only eight fights announced so far, more bouts will be added in the coming weeks, although any chance of Ronda Rousey facing nemesis Miesha Tate for the women's bantamweight title has all but disappeared.
Tickets will go on sale for UFC Fight Club members on September 14, while registering for the UFC Melbourne microsite at www.ufc.com/melbourne will get you access to tickets on September 16, and the general public can access tickets from September 21.