UFC is headed to Perth, Western Australia, and unsurprisingly 13 of the 14 cards contain a fighter from either Australia or New Zealand, including every fight on the main card. There are only 3 fights on the card that include a ranked fighter, with the card more geared towards entertainment and regional pride over top tier fights. Also, the originally scheduled co-main event between Junior Tafa and Ibo Aslan was cancelled due to an injury, with an already booked bout between Jimmy Crute and Ivan Erslan becoming the new co-main event and another already booked bout between Louie Sutherland and Justin Tafa filling the vacant spot on the main card.
Fight 1 (Women’s Strawweight): Lookboonmee (+210) vs Thainara (-260)
#14 Loma Lookboonmee, Thailand, 29 Years Old, 10-3 (7-2 UFC)
Lookboonmee comes in as a sizeable underdog despite being the ranked fighter. Her 2 UFC losses are to Angela Hill in 2020 and Lupita Godinez in 2021, winning her last 4 fights including #15 Denise Gomes. She has 2 career finishes, 1 TKO and 1 submission and 1 loss via submission, all other fights has been via decision. The submission loss and TKO victory came prior to joining the UFC.
Alexia Thainara, “Burguesinha”, Brazil, 27 Years Old, 12-1 (1-0 UFC)
Thainara comes to the UFC via the contender series by beating Rose Conceição by Decision. For what it’s worth Rose Conceição has lost her last 2 fights outside the UFC since fighting in contender series. After earning her contract Burguesinha won performance of the night in her first and only UFC fight for her submission of Molly McCann. Her only career loss was a submission loss to UFC fighter Bruna Brasil prior to both of them joining the UFC. In her career Thainara has 8 submission wins, 4 in the 1st round and 4 in the 2nd round, and 4 decision wins, one of which being a split decision.
Prediction:
Thainara is a decently highly regarded prospect and a large betting favorite, and for good reason. With that being said, I’m picking the upset. I think Lookboonmee is too big of a step up for Thainara so I’m going Lookboonmee by decision. If Thainara wins I expect it to be via submission. I will say, however, that I think a Thainara win would be more interesting and likely what I am rooting for, but I think Lookboonmee ultimately wins.
Fight 2 (Heavyweight): Peričić (-220) vs Ellison (+180)
Brando Peričić, “The Balkan Bear”, Australia, 31 Years Old, 4-1 (0-0 UFC)
Peričić was originally booked against Ellison in DWCS, but the fight was moved to this UFC card for unknown reasons, with both fighters receiving a UFC contract without competing in Contender Series. Peričić, due to a combination of injury and circumstances outside his control such as COVID and other withdrawals did not fight between November 3, 2019 and April 20, 2024. He has 3 first round KO/TKOs and 1 first round submission in his professional MMA career, with his lone loss being a submission in the 2nd round in a championship bout. His 2 amateur bout victories were also both round 1 KO/TKOs. He seems to be a true heavyweight with a questionable gas tank and potential weakness on the ground although he does have one submission of his own.
Elisha Ellison, “Snack Panther”, United States, 28 Years Old, 5-1 (0-0 UFC)
Ellison, like Peričić was a DWCS competitor who was rescheduled into the UFC. Also like Peričić, Ellison has only first round wins, with 4 KO/TKOs and 1 Submission, with his lone loss being a round 2 submission. As an Amateur he had a Unanimous Decision, R1 TKO, R2 TKO, and R2 Submission. He also appears to be a traditional heavyweight most comfortable on his feet and in the first round.
Prediction:
I ultimately think Ellison has a slightly better gas tank and ground game and is the better all around fighter so I am going with Ellison. Despite those mentioned advantages, both of these fighters are at their best on their feet, and in a way this is still an audition of sorts; I’m predicting a knock out early in the very first round, starting the card off with a bang.
Fight 3 (Women’s Bantamweight): Carolina (+215) vs Montague (-265)
#15 Luana Carolina, “Dread”, Brazil, 32 Years Old, 11-4 (6-3 UFC)
Carolina, ranked #15 in the Women’s Flyweight division, is moving up to Bantamweight for this fight. Her last 5 fight opponents are all out of the UFC now, calling into question her level of competition, with losses to Molly McCann and Joanne Wood before beating Ivana Petrović, Julija Stoliarenko, and most recently Lucie Pudilová. A 2021 win over current #6 in the Strawweight division Loopy Godinez stands out as the basis of her UFC resume. She has 3 KO/TKOs and 1 Submission, with 6 Unanimous Decisions and 1 Split Decision victory, with 2 of the TKOs coming in the first round. Her losses include 1 KO/TKO, 1 Submission, and 2 Split Decisions. Both R1 TKOs, and her lone submission victory all came in her first 3 professional wins, all outside the UFC. Since joining the UFC all of her wins have been by decision except for 1, a TKO 4:52 into round 3 in a fight where she missed weight. She also withdrew from her most recent fight due to weight cut complications, prompting the move up to Bantamweight.
Michelle Montague, “The Wild One”, New Zealand, 31 Years Old, 6-0 (0-0 UFC)
Montague will make her UFC debut in Perth after going 6-0 as a pro primarily in PFL but with 1 fight in both iKON and Bellator. Her 6 wins as a pro all came via submission by Rear Naked Choke, with 3 first round, 2 second round, and 1 third round finish. As an amateur she also had 1 Rear Naked Choke, 3 Armbar, 2 Guillotine Choke, 1 Kneebar, 1 Triangle Choke, 2 KO/TKO, and 1 Unanimous Decision victory, with 2 losses to the same opponent by Decision. As a pro she’s been a 1 trick pony, but I believe she has other options in her back pocket. She trains at American Top Team.
Prediction:
I’m not very high on Luana Carolina at this point, so I feel like I would be a fool to not pick Michelle Montague by Rear Naked Choke submission in the first round. I don’t typically like picking debutants to beat ranked fighters but Carolina is #15 in a different division with an unimpressive recent resume despite the 3 fight win streak, so I’m going with Montague.
Fight 4 (Bantamweight): Thicknesse (+125) vs Musasa (-150)
Colby Thicknesse, “Slickness”, Australia, 26 Years Old, 7-1 (0-1 UFC)
Thicknesse was brought into the UFC after becoming a champion in HEX as an opponent for Aleksandre Topuria in which he lost via unanimous decision. In his career as a whole he has 2 round 1 KO/TKOs, 2 round 1 submissions, and 3 Unanimous Decision victories, with his lone loss coming in his UFC debut. Thicknesse is an all-around fighter with R1 finish ability.
Josias Musasa, “The K.O. Wizard”, DRC, 26 Years Old, 8-1 (0-1 UFC)
Josias Musasa came into the UFC with a split decision win on Contender Series. He made his UFC debut as a -800 favorite and missing weight, and then getting submitted by Carlos Vera. Prior to contender series he was 7-0 with 7 KO/TKO wins, 6 of which coming in the 1st round. He is a true power kickboxer, who was simply very raw coming into the UFC. He struggles mightily on the ground and has many technical deficiencies.
Prediction:
While I think Thicknesse could win by Submission or even Decision, I’m going with Musasa by KO in the 1st round. Musasa is a former highly thought of prospect and Thicknesse is not a high level fighter, so I’m hoping and expecting Musasa to have figured it out a bit. I wouldn’t be shocked if Thicknesse won in his home country though.
Fight 5 (Lightweight): Mullarkey (-115) vs Bedoya (-105)
Jamie Mullarkey, Australia, 31 Years Old, 17-8 (5-6 UFC)
Mullarkey is a UFC Veteran with more losses than wins in the promotion with wins over Michael Johnson, Francisco Prado, and John Makdessi. He’s on a 2 fight loss streak though, losing to Nasrat Haqparast and most recently Mauricio Ruffy. In Total he has 10 wins by KO/TKO, 3 wins by Submission, and 4 by decision, with 7 of 13 finishes coming in the first round. He’s been knocked out 6 times and lost 2 decisions. His 3 most recent UFC wins all came via decision though and his last 4 UFC losses came via KO/TKO. He is a decent all around veteran fighter with good submission defense and a terrible chin, creating highlight reels for many of his opponents
Rolando Bedoya, “The Machine”, Peru, 28 Years Old, 14-4 (0-3 UFC)
Bedoya 4 wins by KO/TKO, 3 by Submission, and 7 by decision with all 4 of his losses coming by decision. Unfortunately for Bedoya, 3 of those losses are his last 3 fights and only 3 UFC fights, losing to Khaos Williams, Kenan Song, and Jai Herbert. Not many fighters go 0-3 in the UFC and stick around, so you have to think this is a must win fight for Bedoya’s UFC career. He seems to be a decently balanced fighter but lacking the power or skill to finish fights.
Prediction:
Mullarkey is easy to knock out but I’m not convinced Bedoya has knockout power, so I’m going with Jamie Mullarkey by unanimous decision, leading to Bedoya getting cut from the UFC.
Fight 6 (Middleweight): Petroski (-190) vs Rowston (+160)
Andre Petroski, United States, 34 Years Old, 13-4 (8-3 UFC)
Petroski is a UFC veteran with 4 career KO/TKOs, 4 submissions, and 5 Decisions. One of his losses is by decision with the rest being KO/TKOs. He also has 7 fights in Fury Pro Grappling, going 5-2. Petroski lost to Michel Pereira and Jacob Malkoun before winning 3 straight against Josh Fremd, Dylan Budka, and Rodolfo Vieira, losing his most recent fight against Edmen Shahbazyan. While he is a strong grappler, Petroski has gone to decision in his last 6 fights (2 of these are Grappling bouts).
Cam Rowston, “Battle Giraffe”, Australia, 30 Years Old, 12-3 (0-0 UFC)
Rowston got a big TKO win on the contender series against Brandon Holmes after losing to Torrez Finney the year prior. In between DWCS appearances he won a belt in SFL and won 2 fights in Eternal MMA. After earning his contract, he asked Dana if he could have a quick turn around and fight in his home country. Dana claimed the matchmakers told him no, but promised a fight to Rowston nevertheless. While Rowston is likely ecstatic to fight at home, Petroski is a high level opponent for his first UFC fight. Rowston has 4 wins by KO/TKO, 7 by submission and 1 decision, with 6 first round finishes. He lost 2 fights on the regional scene, 1 to future UFC fighter Jacob Malkoun.
Prediction:
Rowston, a 30 year old prospect, gets a shot to jumpstart his UFC career in a pretty big way. He also struggled with wrestler Torrez Finney, and could run into problems with Petroski’s grappling even though he has plenty of his own submission victories. I fully understand why Petroski is the favorite, but I’m going with Rowston. I like what I see with Rowston and I think he knocks Petroski out in the 2nd round.
Fight 7 (Light Heavyweight): Stirling (-275) vs Bellato (+225)
Navajo Stirling, New Zealand, 27 Years Old, 7-0 (2-0 UFC)
Stirling has fought professionally in Kickboxing and Muay Thai prior to MMA. He also won 2 belts with 1 title defense on the regional scene between Shuriken and HEX before brutally knocking Phillip Latu out on the Contender Series. Latu is 1-1 after that fight, competing in the LFA. Stirling is 2-0 in the UFC but the wins were against Tuco Tokkos and Ivan Erslan, not exactly the highest level fighters and both were via decision. He does have 4 KO/TKOs in his career outside the UFC, he has never won via submission. Stirling was one of my favorite prospects coming out of the Contender Series but hasn’t been as impressive in the UFC thus far.
Rodolfo Bellato, “Trator”, Brazil, 29 Years Old, 12-2-1 1 NC (1-0-1 1 NC UFC)
Bellato’s 2 career losses both came via TKO against Vitor Petrino, once on the regional scene and once on the Contender Series. After winning an LFA belt he got another DWCS chance, this time winning against Murtaza Talha who recently lost on DWCS again, this time to Baisangur Susurkaev. Since joining the UFC Bellato got performance of the night for a TKO win over Ihor Potieria followed by a Majority Draw against Jimmy Crute and a No Contest against Paul Craig. In total he has 7 KO/TKO wins, 4 submissions and 1 decision.
Prediction:
Bellato’s resume is very impressive to me despite the weirdness of his last 2 fights. We also haven’t seen Stirling really have to show what he can do on the ground. With that being said, it’s been shown that high level fighters can knock Bellato out so I’m going with Navajo Stirling by TKO in the 3rd round.
Main Card
Fight 8 (Lightweight): Nolan (-150) vs Campbell (+125)
Tom Nolan, “Big Train”, Australia, 25 Years Old, 9-1 (3-1 UFC)
Nolan entered the UFC after a R1 TKO vs Bogdan Grad on the Contender Series. Grad later got into the UFC going 1-1 thus far. Nolan lost his debut to Nikolas Motta but has now won 3 straight. He has 5 KO victories, 4 in the 1st round and 4 decision victories. He does not have a submission as a pro, but does have 1 as an amateur.
Charlie Campbell, “The Cannibal”, United States, 30 Years Old, 9-2 (2-0 UFC)
Coming from Bellator and CFFC, Campbell was knocked out by Chris Duncan in the Contender Series, but later signed to fight Alex Reyes. Campbell beat Reyes then followed it up by beating Trevor Peek. In total, Campbell has 6 KO/TKOs and 3 decision victories.
Prediction:
Nolan and Campbell both seem like more interesting fighters than they are high level. Neither fighter has a career submission although Nolan does have a professional grappling fight, so I expect this fight to stay on the feet. Either fighter could clip the other but I’m going with Tom Nolan by TKO in the 2nd round.
Fight 9 (Heavyweight): Sutherland (+105) vs Tafa (-125)
Louie Sutherland, “The Vanilla Gorilla”, Scotland, 31 Years Old, 10-3 (0-0 UFC)
Sutherland is a new UFC signing for this fight after winning a belt in LFL. He also formerly competed in Bellator and PFL. He has 8 career KO/TKOs, 7 in the 1st round, and 2 wins via decision. All 3 of his losses came via decision. He definitely has UFC level power but his resume doesn’t scream UFC worthy.
Justin Tafa, “Bad Man”, Australia, 31 Years Old, 7-5 1 NC (4-5 1 NC UFC)
Unlike his brother Junior, Justin Tafa has remained in the heavyweight division. He beat Austen Lane but most recently lost to Karl Williams and Tallison Teixeira. All 7 of his career wins are via KO/TKO, he’s been knocked out twice and lost via decision 3 times. Tafa has also withdrawn from 3 fights since his last victory.
Prediction:
This is a classic low level heavyweight bout that can only end via early KO or boring decision, neither of these have a 3 round gas tank. I hate picking fighters who are making their UFC debuts without going through the Contender Series as so many of them are just not UFC caliber. Luckily for Sutherland, Justin Tafa isn’t really UFC caliber either, so give me Sutherland by KO in the 1st.
Fight 10 (Welterweight): Matthews (-475) vs Magny (+340)
Jake Matthews, “The Celtic Kid”, Australia, 31 Years Old, 22-7 (15-7 UFC)
Longtime UFC veteran Jake Matthews has 3 performance bonuses in his long career. He has 5 KO/TKO wins, 9 Submissions and 8 decision victories. His losses include 1 KO/TKO and 3 Submissions. He has 4 wins in his last 5 with the loss coming against undefeated Michael Morales.
Neil Magny, “Haitian Sensation”, United States, 38 Years Old, 30-13 (23-12 UFC)
Magny is also a long time UFC veteran with 35 total fights in the promotion. He has 9 KO/TKO wins, 4 Submissions and 17 Decisions in his career. He is very open to being submitted though with 6 total losses. He has only 2 wins in his last 5, with losses to Morales, Carlos Prates, and Ian Machado Garry being knocked out twice.
Prediction:
It’s hard to compare these 2 welterweight gatekeepers. Matthews is definitely better on the ground, but I think Magny is being underrated here by oddsmakers. He has a lot of recent losses but against high level and ranked opponents. Magny also won his most recent fight, showing he isn’t totally washed at least, so I’m picking the biggest upset on the card in Neil Magny by decision.
Fight 11 (Featherweight): Jenkins (-320) vs Taveras (+250)
Jack Jenkins, “Phar”, Australia, 31 Years Old, 13-4 (3-2 UFC)
Jenkins came to the UFC after a late TKO against Emiliano Linares. He has wins over Don Shainis, Jamall Emmers, and Herbert Burns. His two losses are a TKO/injury loss to Chepe Mariscal, and a submission loss to Gabriel Santos in his most recent fight. In his career he has 6 KO/TKOs, 3 Submissions and 4 Decisions, outside of the injury, all of his career losses came via submission. He also won 3 belts and defended a title once on the regional scene before coming to the UFC.
Ramon Taveras, “The Savage”, United States, 31 Years Old, 10-3 (1-1 UFC)
Taveras got knocked out by Serhiy Sidey after missing weight in the Contender Series, but got an early TKO in his 2nd opportunity against Cortavious Romious to earn a UFC contract. He then got a rematch with Serhiy Sidey, this time in the UFC, and won via split decision but missed weight again. Then, in his most recent fight, he lost to veteran Davey Grant by Decision. He has 5 KO/TKO wins, 3 submissions and 2 decisions and has been knocked out twice himself.
Prediction:
Jenkins has a weakness on the ground, but I don’t think Taveras is the fighter to exploit that. Ultimately I think Jenkins is just the better fighter with home advantage and wins by decision.
Fight 12 (Light Heavyweight): Crute (-240) vs Erslan (+195) – Co-Main Event
Jimmy Crute, “The Brute”, Australia, 29 Years Old, 13-4-2 (5-4-2 UFC)
Jimmy Crute won his most recent fight against Marcin Prachnio by submission. He had gone winless in his 5 previous fights, with 3 losses and 2 draws. He won his UFC contract on the Contender Series by TKO over Chris Birchler. In his career he has 5 KO/TKOs, 5 Submissions, and 3 decisions. 9 of his 10 finishes came in the 1st round. In the UFC all of his wins have been by finish, with 3 submissions and 2 TKOs. He has also never lost by decision in his career.
Ivan Erslan, Croatia, 33 Years Old, 14-5 (0-2 UFC)
Ivan Erslan has 10 career knockouts, with just 1 win by submission and 3 by decision. All of his finishes came in the 1st round. Unfortunately, both of his UFC appearances have been decision losses. He lost a split decision to Ion Cutelaba and a unanimous decision to Navajo Stirling.
Prediction:
While Erslan has huge power on the regional scene, he just doesn’t seem to be UFC caliber. Jimmy Crute’s big winless streak came mostly against ranked or high level opponents. I think Crute beats him everywhere the fight goes but he finds the finish by submission in the 1st round.
Fight 13 (Light Heavyweight): Ulberg (-250) vs Reyes (+200) – Main Event
#3 Carlos Ulberg, “Black Jag”, New Zealand, 34 Years Old, 12-1 (8-1 UFC)
Ulberg came to the contender series 3-0 in MMA and 3-0 in professional Kickboxing. He won his contract by KO over Bruno Oliveira. Ulberg lost his UFC debut to Kennedy Nzechukwu, but has won 8 straight since then. In the UFC he has 4 wins by TKO, 1 by submission and 3 by decision. Pre-UFC he had 3 KO/TKOs and 1 decision victory with 3 KO/TKOs in kickboxing as well. He has plenty of lower quality wins but beat Alonzo Menifield, Volkan Oezdemir, and Jan Błachowicz in his last 3 fights.
#7 Dominick Reyes, “The Devastator”, United States, 35 Years Old, 15-4 (9-4 UFC)
Reyes started his UFC career with a 6 fight win streak with wins over Jared Cannonier, Volkan Oezdemir, and Chris Weidman. He then lost to Jon Jones, Jan Błachowicz, Jiří Procházka and Ryan Spann, being knocked out 3 times in 4 fights. He has since bounced back with 3 wins over Dustin Jacoby, Anthony Smith, and Nikita Krylov.
Prediction:
Reyes as the more impressive resume, Ulberg has the more impressive recent form. I’m going to go with Ulberg by TKO in the 1st. I have to imagine this is a quick fight either way though.
Final Thoughts
I think this is a below average fight night card. I do respect the amount of Australians and Kiwis they were able to fit on the card, as well as the sheer number of fights. The card also has a good main event which should make for a good and important fight in the light heavyweight division. Ultimately though, the entire rest of the card feels like prelim fights so I can only give the card a 5/10.
Editors Note: A welterweight bout between Jonathan Micallef and Oban Elliott has been cancelled due to an illness. It has been removed from this preview.
