UFC Perth: Ulberg vs Reyes - Sep 27 ??

[wandshogun09]

G’Day…

ESPN MAIN CARD
Carlos Ulberg vs Dominick Reyes 

Jimmy Crute vs Ivan Erslan

Jack Jenkins vs Ramon Taveras 

Jake Matthews vs Neil Magny 

Tom Nolan vs Charlie Campbell 

ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMS 
Navajo Stirling vs Rodolfo Bellato 

Loma Lookboonmee vs Alexia Thainara  

Andre Petroski vs Cam Rowston 

Colby Thicknesse vs Josias Musasa 

Jamie Mullarkey vs Rolando Bedoya 

Luana Carolina vs Michelle Montague 

Elisha Ellison vs Brando Pericic 

 

Not great. Pretty thin card throughout really but whatever. Be worth a skim through on the Sunday. There are a couple of bits of interest on the undercard for me but this generally looks like a card you could skip and you wouldn’t miss anything important. I’ll give at least some of it a bash. As always, I’ll edit when the changes and card shuffling starts but that’s the running order as I type this.

 

 

Carlos Ulberg vs Dominick Reyes tops the bill down under. Not in love with this as a headliner but I don’t hate it and I do get why they wanna shine a bit of spotlight on Ulberg. The Light Heavyweight division is in desperate need of some fresh faces in the title mix and he’s got a decent record but he’s also 34 already. Time is of the essence. He’s ranked #3 now with only Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka above him. So he’s not far off. And depending on how the Ankalaev vs Pereira rematch goes at UFC 320, with the two fights just a week apart, the timing here could mean this ends up being a number one contender fight.

Kind of a home game for Ulberg here. He’s Kiwi and trains out of City Kickboxing alongside Alexander Volkanovski, Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker. He’s basically an adopted Aussie. He has a Kickboxing record of 19-2, went 1-0 in Boxing and in MMA he’s currently 12-1 with 8 coming inside the distance and he’s on an eight fight winning streak. He scored a first round KO on DWCS back in 2020 which turned some heads and got him in the UFC. Then in his Octagon debut he got chinned by Kennedy Nzechukwu, which was a bit of a surprise at the time as I recall. Ulberg came in with a bit of buzz and from what I remember he was winning the fight before Nzechukwu rallied with the come from behind knockout. That’s been the only setback for Ulberg so far though. He hasn’t lost since. Like I said, currently on an eight fight streak but I don’t really know what to make of him. He never really had any notable wins until his last couple where he took decisions off Volkan Oezdemir and Jan Blachowicz. But even then, his last fight against Blachowicz, I remember thinking Blachowicz should’ve got the nod and bear in mind that was a 42 year old Blachowicz coming off a two year layoff. Doesn’t exactly fill me with optimism for Ulberg’s future. And like I said, he’s 34 now, he’ll turn 35 in November. Not like he’s a spring chicken with loads of time to improve. He’s basically the finished article now.

Actually find myself rooting for big Dom Reyes here. Never particularly been a fan of his, never disliked him either, just kind of indifferent. But man, his career comeback has been incredible over his last few fights. Bit of a mad career he’s had. He went 12-0 unbeaten initially, which bagged him the title shot against Jon Jones in early 2020. Took Jones to the very brink of defeat. Honestly, it’s the best claim anyone’s got of actually beating him. People talk about the first Gustafsson fight but I think there’s a much stronger argument for Reyes beating Jones. Haven’t seen it in years so I’m gonna stop short of calling it an outright robbery, but I did think he was given a raw deal by the judges that night. And after that his form went to shit. After the Jones loss, Reyes then got brutally knocked out in his next three fights by Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka and Ryan Spann. He went from being undefeated at 12-0 to going 0-4 and looking done before his mid 30s. Since then, miraculously, he’s turned the tide again and has rattled off three straight knockout wins in a row. Granted, not against stellar opposition. He walloped Dustin Jacoby, the shell of Anthony Smith and Nikita Krylov. But it’s a start. Certainly better than where he was before. He’s 35 himself now as well so if he’s gonna make one more run at UFC gold, it’s now or never.

Yeah not too bad, to be fair. There’s potentially a lot at stake here, which can often mean a fight plays out one way or another. Either they go out there and fight cautious because they feel the pressure and don’t wanna slip up, or they go balls out to make something happen. Hopefully it’s the latter. Let’s be honest, this could be the last chance either of these two get to challenge for the UFC title. They need to make a statement here to put themselves at the forefront of the conversation. Trying to coast to victory could be risky because if Jiri beats Khalil Rountree at 320, he’s probably the next contender. So the winner of this needs to stand out. It’ll probably be watchable enough and I think Reyes is gonna fancy his chances coming off three KO wins and he’ll come out guns blazing. That should hopefully force Ulberg to show more than he has in his last couple of fights. Rooting for Reyes. What a story it would be if he somehow ends up challenging for the belt again. You’d never have called it when he was routinely getting flattened just a few fights ago.

 

Jimmy Crute vs Ivan Erslan is whatever. Not arsed but it might be alright, I guess. Crute just doesn’t do it for me. He’s Australian, 29 years old and 13-4-2 with 10 finishes. In fairness, he’s coming off a nasty first round armbar over shitehawk Marcin Prachnio in July so there’s that. Anyone making short work of that dullard is OK with me. That was Crute’s first win in ages though. His previous five fights consisted of three losses and two draws. He actually got some decent wins earlier in his career over Paul Craig and Modestas Bukauskas but it’s gone right off the boil in recent years. Erslan’s Croatian, a very weathered 33 years old and he’s 14-5 with 11 finishes. Barely seen him but he lost his first two UFC fights and he doesn’t have any notable wins.

 

Jack Jenkins vs Ramon Taveras is gonna be ***WAND’S ONE TO WATCH*** this time. I wasn’t exactly spoilt for choice but it’s definitely one of the better fights on the card. Taveras is 31 years old, 10-3 with 8 finishes and coming off a decision loss to Davey Grant back in December. I recall that being a surprisingly dull fight actually but I really enjoyed his bloodbath with Serhiy Sidey before that.

Spice up your life! Jenkins is Aussie, also 31 and has a record of 13-4 with 9 finishes. He hasn’t had the best or most consistent run of results in the UFC but he’s been consistently entertaining to watch so far. Battered Herbert Burns to a TKO last August but then got submitted by Gabriel Santos in a fun fight on the Sydney card back in February this year. Yeah, neither of these two are world beaters but I’m expecting an action filled fight here. It always helps when the crowd is invested, and they will be for Jenkins here.

 

Jake Matthews vs Neil Magny. Is it me or does it feel like this has already happened? I had to check, it hasn’t, but it feels like it went down at the Apex in 2021 or something. They’ve both just been plodding along almost aimlessly on the roster for what feels like donkeys years now. Matthews more than Magny, which is odd because he’s still only 31 but seems like an old journeyman at this point. I remember when he came into the UFC he was only 19/20 and he was being talked about as a good prospect for Australian MMA. Turned out he was just…young. He’s never really done anything and as time passes it seems he peaked with his 2018 win over Li Jingliang. He couldn’t even put a shot to bits Diego Sanchez away in 2020. He is on a three fight win streak now, to be fair. Coming off a quick sub over Chidi Njokuani in July. He’s taking the Magny Test here though. But I’m not sure what Magny’s got left now. He’s been a great litmus test over the years for many an up and comer but he’s 38 years old now and this’ll be his 44th pro fight. He’s coming off a TKO win over Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos in August but suffered back-to-back first round knockout losses before that.

 

Tom Nolan vs Charlie Campbell is currently scheduled to kick off the main card. Probably a good choice as well because from the little I’ve seen so far of Nolan, win or lose he brings it. He’s 25 years old, Aussie and has a record of 9-1 with 5 by KO/TKO. His lone defeat was in his UFC debut where he got stopped quick by Nikolas Motta but since then he’s won three in a row and he’s coming off a points win over Slava Claus in an entertaining fight on the Sydney card in February. As for Campbell…

What a rush! My memory’s a bit hazy on him and that’s probably because he hasn’t fought since April 2024 when he beat Trevor Peek by decision in his UFC debut. He’s 30 years old, 9-2 with 6 finishes and he’s nicknamed ‘The Cannibal’. Roadwarrior Charlie was right there. Looking back at the thread for Campbell’s debut against Peek, I seemed to enjoy it. And like I said, Nolan’s a scrappy little fucker so this could be a lot of fun.

 

Navajo Stirling vs Rodolfo Bellato. Not fussed. Can’t really remember Stirling but he’s from New Zealand, trains out of City Kickboxing, 27 years old and undefeated at 7-0 with 4 by KO/TKO. Sounds alright so far but hasn’t beat anyone of note yet. His first couple of UFC wins have been over Tuco Tokkos and Ivan Erslan and he didn’t manage to finish either. Brazil’s Bellato is coming in fresh off this…

That weird fight with Paul Craig in June which ended in a No Contest when Craig cracked him with an illegal upkick and Bellato couldn’t continue. Still don’t know what was going on there. I don’t like questioning stuff like that or saying these guys are faking because it’s easy for me watching from the comfort of my sofa but it did seem a bit strange. Bellato looked at the ref on the way down, then flopped out like he was unconscious. It was almost like when Eddie Guerrero used to cheat behind the referee’s back then play dead when he turned around.

 

Loma Lookboonmee vs Alexia Thainara. Nothing special but inoffensive enough prelim fodder. I like Loma but she’s going nowhere. She’s 29 years old, so still fairly young, but she just stays at the same spot regardless. She’s 10-3 now and on a four fight win streak but she never makes any progress, it’s just a series of fights that feel like endless steps sideways instead of forward. As for Thainara, if you don’t remember her, maybe this will refresh your memory…

? She’s the woman who made her UFC debut on the London card in March, subbed Molly McCann in a round and sent her into retirement. Molly’s gonna be Boxing this month for Matchroom. Thainara took that fight on about a week’s notice as well. She’s Brazilian, 27 years old and has a record of 12-1 with 8 finishes. Don’t know anything about her other than what she showed in London. I just recall she seemed like the most energetic person on the planet that night, from her entrance to the fight itself to the post-fight celebration. Kind of looking forward to seeing more of her. Anyone who’s read my posts on here will know I don’t rate Meatball Molly so can’t read too much into that win on its own.

 

Andre Petroski vs Cam Rowston. Not a clue. I’ve seen a few Petroski fights now but nothing is really jumping out in the memory about him other than he’s primarily a grappler. He’s 34 years old, 13-4 and coming off a decision loss against Edmen Shahbazyan on the Atlanta card in June. Rowston’s a UFC newcomer. He’s Australian, 30 years old and has a 12-3 record with 11 of his wins not making it to the scorecards. Nothing leaps off the page on his record other than he lost to Torrez Finney on DWCS last year but he’s won four fights since then. His nickname is ‘Battle Giraffe’ for some reason. Giraffe’s of course being famous for their love of fighting.

 

Colby Thicknesse vs Josias Musasa might be worth a look but I haven’t seen enough of either. Musasa is Congolese, 26 years old and 8-1 with 7 knockouts. Made his UFC debut in March, missed weight then got strangled in a round by Carlos Vera. Never saw that fight, it was on an Apex card I skipped completely. But yeah, great start that. If there’s one thing the UFC hate, it’s weight missers but especially a debuting fighter who then loses badly. Disaster.

‘Slickness’ Thicknesse is back. Still think Norma Dumont should marry him. It’s fate. Norma Thicknesse. Anyway, Thicknesse is one of the main training partners of Alexander Volkanovski, he’s Australian, 26 years old and 7-1. He debuted on the Sydney card in Feb and lost a decision to Ilia Topuria’s brother Aleksandre. Good little fight from what I remember and Thicknesse had stepped in on short notice. Hopefully he can get back on track here after a full training camp.

 

Jamie Mullarkey vs Rolando Bedoya. Pure filler. Mullarkey’s tough but his days in the UFC have seemed numbered for a while now to me. He’s still only 31 but he’s taken some punishment. He’s 17-8 now, has lost three of his last four and he’s coming off back-to-back first round stoppage losses to Nasrat Haqparast and Mauricio Ruffy. Hasn’t fought in well over a year now so at least he’s taken a break. Guess if he’s gonna get another shot it might as well be in front of a home crowd in Australia. Bedoya’s Peruvian, 28 years old and 14-4 with 7 finishes. He’s coming off three losses himself and hasn’t been very active so the matchmakers have at least tried to be fair here.

 

Luana Carolina vs Michelle Montague. Another one I’m going in blind on. Carolina’s been on the roster for years now, made her debut in 2019, and hasn’t really done anything. She’s 32 years old, 11-4 and on a three fight win streak. Which doesn’t sound bad but, I don’t know, like a lot of these lower card women there never seems to be any progression.

Montague makes her first Octagon appearance. She’s making history here as the first woman from New Zealand to fight in the UFC. She’s 31 years old and undefeated at 6-0 with all six wins coming by submission. She’s fought in Bellator and PFL, trains at American Top Team and from what I’m reading she’s dropping to Bantamweight after previously fighting as a Featherweight. Hopefully she turns out to be good because women’s 135 badly needs a boost.

 

Elisha Ellison vs Brando Pericic jerks the curtain this time. It’s Heavyweight, it’s two UFC newcomers. Hopes aren’t high. Ellison is 28 years old and nicknamed ‘Snack Panther’ according to his Tapology page. Yeah, me neither. He’s 5-1 with all 5 wins being finishes and won his last fight by first round TKO in January. Pericic is Aussie, 31 years old, nicknamed ‘The Balkan Bear’ and he’s 4-1 with 4 finishes. Apparently these two were supposed to fight each other on DWCS in August, it got cancelled and now here we are.

 

 

Ehh. It passes a week until 320.

Edited October 19, 2025 by wandshogun09

[wandshogun09]

Fight week…

[Bruce85]

You know it’s not the best card when there are zero repiles….

Routing for Reyes in this one, would be good to see him work his way back in to the title picture after the razor close fight with Jones. Haven’t seen it since it happened but I was convinced Reyes did enough to get the win but that could be tainted by my hatred of Jones. With how thin the division is he can’t be more than a couple more wins away from a title shot. If Reyes wins this and Perier loses the rematch I wouldn’t mind seeing them matched up. 

Edited September 22, 2025 by Bruce85

[Bruce85]

I don’t think anyone cared that this happened, and that includes the live audience! Compared to the Paris card a few weeks back this just felt dead. 
 

Don’t think I’ve ever seen a ref call a fight off and then backtrack and say the fights still going before. 

[jimufctna24]

A lot of the live crowd scooped up discounted tickets. 

Apparently the show sold very poorly. Perth is in the middle of nowhere, so Aussies have to make a lot of effort to attend, which they did for super fights like DDP vs Izzy and Volk vs Mak. It's understandable that a card headlined by the 2025 version of Reyes didn't inspire the same level of effort from fans.

[Dai]

Wasnt a bad show to be fair. Some decent stuff on it. That Magny decision was crazy, and surely isnt there some sort of commission people watching the shows. Surely they should of stepped in and said to the ref that he called the fight. Dont think thats ever happened before where its clearly been stopped.

Speaking of things Ive never seen before, Ive never seen a fight end with a Steiner Recliner like Crute did. Looked like something that was easy to escape from, but it was a very quick tap.

Wand said Ulberg had to make a statement, and he certainly did that. Very impressive win, and one that will definately help him in getting the next shot. Not a huge amount you can learn from such a short fight, but impressive regardless.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah not much to add. Literally just skimmed through the main card on Sunday and the show was such an afterthought I forgot to even pop in here at all.

Ulberg proper shat all over Reyes feel-good comeback story, didn’t he? That’s probably bagged him the next title shot now unless something crazy happens in the Jiri vs Rountree fight tonight. That’s the only way I see Ulberg not being next. Even if Pereira beats Ankalaev tonight, in theory with them then being 1-1 you’d expect them to spam the trilogy. But I think if Pereira gets the belt back tonight they’ll avoid giving Ank a rematch as long as they can. It’s bullshit but I think they’ll swerve him spoiling the Poatan party again for as long as possible in that scenario. Ulberg needed a performance like this. His last couple of wins were far from convincing, another lacklustre decision here wouldn’t have had the matchmakers itching to give him a crack at the belt. But this KO was just what he needed. He’s given the UFC something they can work with to promote him as the number one contender. I think he loses to whoever the champ is, but I think he’ll get the shot as long as Jiri vs Rountree isn’t some mad FOTY war that ends with a flying, spinning dropkick or something.

Shame to see Reyes get flattened like that. He’s never been a favourite of mine but everyone loves a comeback story and him winning this fight and securing one of the most unlikely title shots ever would’ve been cool to see. Wasn’t to be though. Not sure how much longer he’s gonna keep fighting but hopefully this isn’t the start of another bad slump for him.

Nothing much to say about the rest of the card. Jimmy Crute winning via camel clutch had me chuckling away…

How arse do you have to be to be getting caught in and be tapping to that in 2025? And there’s still fans who will argue until they’re blue in the face that the skill level in MMA has massively improved across the board. This looked like something plucked from a SEG era UFC card in 1995. Erslan oughta be ashamed of himself. Disgraced Croatia, besmirching Cro Cop like that should come with jail time.

The Magny vs Matthews fight was a weird one. Ref dropped a bollock at the end of the first round with the ref calling the fight off then letting it continue. Shit show. Read something that Matthews is appealing it, doubt he’ll get anywhere with it. Wasn’t Magny’s fault though and fair play, he did it again. Losing the whole fight then pulls a submission out of his arse right near the end of the fight. Crafty old bastard.

Noticed the Louie Sutherland vs Justin Tafa and Jonathan Micallef vs Oban Elliott fights both went tits up and got cancelled at the last minute. Fucking joke how often that happens these days.