UFC Fight Night 43 lineup set with 10 bouts in promotion's New Zealand debut

The lineup for the UFC’s debut in New Zealand is set with 10 fights – and a middle-of-the-night start time for fans in the Americas.

UFC Fight Night 43 takes place June 28 at Vector Arena in Auckland. The entire event streams on UFC Fight Pass with a start time of 2 a.m. ET (11 p.m. PT) for the prelims and 5 a.m. ET for the four-fight main card.

Headlining the bout is a middleweight fight between Nate Marquardt (32-13-2 MMA, 10-6 UFC) and James Te Huna (16-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC), a native of New Zealand. In the co-main event, Soa Palelei (21-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC), from nearby in Australia, meets Jared Rosholt (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in a heavyweight bout.

Rounding out the main card, Hatsu Hioki (27-7-2 MMA, 3-3 UFC) meets Charles Oliveira (17-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) in a featherweight bout, and New Zealand-born Robert Whittaker (11-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) takes on Mike Rhodes (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at welterweight.

The featured fight on the preliminary card is a lightweight fight between promotional newcomers Dashon Johnson (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Jake Matthews (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

The full UFC Fight Night 43 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 5 a.m. ET)

• Nate Marquardt vs. James Te Huna
• Soa Palelei vs. Jared Rosholt
• Hatsu Hioki vs. Charles Oliveira
• Robert Whittaker vs. Mike Rhodes

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 2 a.m. ET)

For more on UFC Fight Night 43, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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