The UFC will return to Perth, Australia this May for a Fight Night card that now has a main event.
During Saturday’s UFC Mexico City broadcast, promotion officials announced that former welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena (18-3) will take on Brazilian contender Carlos Prates (23-7) in the UFC Perth headliner.
The event takes place on May 2, 2026 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
After losing the first two fights of his professional MMA career, Maddalena went on an incredible 18-fight win streak that took him all the way to a UFC championship. Defeating names like Randy Brown, Kevin Holland, and Gilbert Burns along the way, Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad last May to capture welterweight gold.
His first title defense, however, would come against future Hall of Famer Islam Makhachev, who earned a dominant five-round decision win to hand JDM his first loss under the UFC banner.
Prates is 6-1 under the UFC banner, and is coming off a knockout of another former champion, Leon Edwards, last November. Prior to that, it was another knockout win for The Fighting Nerds star, as he connected with a spinning back elbow to put away Geoff Neal at UFC 319 in August.
No other fights have been announced or reported for the UFC’s return to Perth.
