Melbourne's Jake "The Celtic Kid" Matthews will fight the more experienced Akbarh Arreola, from Mexico. Daniel Kelly, who has competed in judo at four Olympic Games for Australia, will fight jiu-jitsu expert Ricardo Abreu. Rod Laver Arena was also considered a possible venue for the event, with some commentators suggesting Lawler and Condit may struggle to fill Etihad, which is larger. Etihad Stadium CEO Paul Sergeant issued a statement saying he was confident the fight night would be a sell-out. He said the event would be economically beneficial for Melbourne and that the UFC would ensure it was a safe experience.

"Around 56,000 fans occupied every seat and standing space for a game of international rugby in 2013 and we're anticipating a similar crowd," he said. It will be the first time an Ultimate Fighting Championship event will be held in Victoria, after the Labor state government earlier this year lifted a ban on the "octagon" enclosure, or cage, the participants fight in. The previous government had maintained a ban on cage-fighting after the Australian Medical Association and police criticised the use of the octagon. In 2014 then Victorian police chief commissioner Ken Lay was reported as saying the sport could lead to more violence in the community. "It would be disappointing if we went down the path of glamorising this extreme violence," he said.

Tickets to UFC 193 will go sale on September 21 for the general public, earlier for UFC subscribers.