UFC Perth featured a 12-fight card, and a five-fight main card. Of the 11 home country fighters, 10 got the job done on Saturday, with the sole loser being Jake Matthews.
Both the co-main, and the main event, for UFC Perth featured brutal first round finishes. Jimmy Crute strangled Ivan Erslan and Carlos Ulberg flatlined Dominick Reyes in a light heavyweight title eliminator. Both finishes also earned bonuses, as well as the main card’s opener between Tom Nolan and Charlie Campbell. All around, an exciting card with five of the six main card fights ending with finishes.
Dominick Reyes
Dominick Reyes was dropped and finished late in the first round of his main event against Carlos Ulberg in UFC Perth’s main event Saturday. Reyes entered the cage ranked at #7 in the light heavyweight division while Ulberg was ranked at #3. To say Reyes was on a hot streak would be putting it mildly- Reyes had seemingly revived his career after getting stopped three times in a row following his controversial 2020 loss to then-UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. “The Devastator” stopped Dustin Jacoby, Anothny Smith and Nikita Krylov climbing back into the top ten of the division. This loss halts a large mass of that momentum, but all isn’t lost for the 35-year-old.
For his next fight, Reyes should take on the loser of Azamat Murzakanov vs Aleksandar Rakic. That fight goes down on October 25th, so the timing wouldn’t be too bad. Rakic is on a three-fight losing skid and has losses against common opponents like Jan Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka in similar fashion. Azamat is 5-0 within the UFC and undefeated in his pro MMA career so far. He shares a common opponent and outcome with Dom, as he has a victory over Dustin Jacoby. Murzakanov is currently ranked at #10 in the division while Rakic is ranked at #8. This fight would make more sense than a lot of the other matchups that could potentially be arranged. Fight could easily be on the main card of a pay-per-view or co main event of a fight night card. Winner would be able to hang on to a top 10-13 ranking.
Dominick’s next fight: Azamat Murzakanov vs Aleksandar Rakic loser
Ivan Erslan
Ivan Erslan was violently submitted in a modified rear naked choke by Jimmy Crute in the co-main event of UFC Perth Saturday. Erslan is now 0-3 with the promotion since being signed from KSW in 2024. This is the first time Ivan’s been finished with the promotion as his debut he dropped a split decision to Ion Cutelaba. Erslan then lost a unanimous decision to Navajo Stirling in May.
The light heavyweight division is currently in bad shape, as far as the roster is concerned. Still, Ivan could potentially face the axe after this loss, but if not, another defeat would surely do the job.
Erslan’s next fight should be against Rodolfo Bellato. Rodolfo lost to Navajo Stirling in the featured prelim bout of UFC Perth on Saturday. Considering Erslan had the exact same outcome against Navajo, earlier this year, it’d be a perfect fight to book. Bellato is also in a similar hot seat as he has the peculiar record of 1-1-1, 1 NC with the UFC. Rodolfo’s lone UFC victory is against Ihor Potieria (no longer with the promotion). His no contest was a controversial one, against the now retired, Paul Craig. And Rodolfo’s draw was also controversial, against none other than Jimmy Crute, back in February. So, this matchup would make a lot of sense at present. And it could be a high stakes bout with the loser likely receiving the boot.
Ivan’s next fight: Rodolfo Bellato
Ramon Taveras
Jack Jenkins defeated Ramon Taveras on Saturday in a unanimous decision in the only fight that went the distance on the main card. To make matters worse, Taveras missed weight before the bout (147lbs.), in the second time he missed weight while under UFC contract. Ramon is undoubtedly in the hot seat moving forward as he has now missed weight in two different weight classes and also missed weight in his first Contender Series appearance.
A good next opponent for Ramon would Jeong Yeong Lee. Jeong has a similar UFC record to Ramon at 2-2 but is also riding a two-fight losing streak. The pair also share a similar pro MMA record with Tavereas now being 10-4 and Yeong Lee at 11-3. Yeong Lee was stopped by Hyder Amil in July of 2024 and most recently dropped a unanimous decision to Daniel Santos in May. This could be a really good high energy scrap, but it all depends on the direction that UFC brass wants to go considering Ramon’s weigh in history.
Ramon’s next fight: Jeong Yeong Lee or Yizha
Jake Matthews
Neil Magny submitted Jake Matthews with slick d’arce choke in the final round of their bout on Saturday. Matthews was the only Aussie to take an L on the card, and the loss snapped a three-fight winning streak.
Matthews should fight Elizeu Zaleski in his next scrap. Zaleski has lost three of his last four bouts. In his most recent bout, Neil Magny finished him with ground strikes in round two of their August bout. Elizeu is 11-6-1 with the UFC while Matthews is 15-8. Pretty evenly matched scrap even though both guys are on slightly different trajectories. Timing matches pretty well, both guys share a common last opponent and outcome, why not book it? Could sneak into the main card order of a fight night card with the winner hoping right back into the relevant mid ranks of the 170lbs. division.
Jake’s next fight: Elizeu Zaleski
Charlie Campbell
Tom Nolan submitted Charlie Campbell with a nasty rear naked choke, to earn the third bonus on the main card of UFC Perth Saturday. The loss was Campbell’s first with the UFC after stopping Alex Reyes in his 2023 debut and defeating Trevor Peek last year.
Charlie’s next fight should be against Yanal Ashmouz. While it’s tempting to give Campbell a veteran like King Green, that may not be relevant enough of a litmus test for today’s UFC lightweight division. Yanal is a PFL veteran that is 2-2 within the UFC. Yanal lost in his most recent fight, dropping a unanimous decision to Quillan Salkilld in June. Ashmouz shares a common opponent and outcome with Campbell, and he also defeated Trevor Peek via decision in 2024. This would be a great top of the preliminary card type of fight, or potentially the main card of a Fight Night. The winner of this bout would be right in the thick of the deep waters of the UFC’s successful lightweight prospects.
Charlie’s next fight: Yanal Ashmouz
