UFC Perth gave us a nice blend of stakes and action, crowned by a great main event that gave us of the standout performances of 2026, so far. Carlos Prates dismantled former champion Jack Della Maddalena like he said he would. While the home crowd saw their favourite lose in the main event, Quillan Salkilld, Steve Erceg and Brando Pericic all gave them something to cheer for on the main card. With UFC Perth now behind us, let’s look at what’s next for the winners.
Carlos Prates
We already knew how potent Prates’ offense was, but we didn’t know it was this dangerous against the top of the welterweight division. It took someone with elite defense like Ian Machado Garry to stifle him, and even the Irishman got a taste of the “The Nightmare” in the final frame of their bout. The Brazilian completely steamrolled Jack Della Maddalen en route to a 3rd-round mercy stoppage from the referee. In most cases, this would make Prates the next title contender, but it would be a bit ridiculous to make him the next challenger considering his loss to Machado Garry. One thing is sure, though, his next fight should be for the welterweight title.
Prates’ next fight: Title shot
Quillan Salkilld
Not to take away from young Sakilld’s first-round finish, but it’s difficult to know exactly what we learned from this victory since it appears that Beneil Dariush’s punch resistance is completely gone, which means Salkilld was always going to win if he could connect just one punch on Dariush. What we do know is that this win will push the Australian inside the lightweight rankings, where he will be surrounded by sharks. Nobody seems to want to fight Mateusz Gamrot as he is a very unenviable opponent for several reasons. If Salkilld is game for it, I don’t see why the UFC wouldn’t make this fight next.
Salkilld’s next fight: Mateusz Gamrot
Steve Erceg
After dropping three fights in a row, “Astroboy” now finds himself on a win streak. An encouraging sign, as this win over Tim Elliott was more convincing than the previous one against Ode’ Osbourne. After fighting three killers in Alexandre Pantoja, Kai Kara-France and Brandon Moreno consecutively, going back to the Ode’ Osbournes and Tim Elliotts of the world was the right call. Having now won both of those fights, I think Erceg can start to look up the rankings once more. Someone like Amir Albazi makes a ton of sense, considering where both fighters are at.
Erceg’s next fight: Amir Albazi
Marwan Rahiki
Rahiki offered himself an early birthday gift as he scored his second UFC win before turning 24 next week. He made quick short of Ollie Schmid, who came in on very short notice. At such a young age, there is no reason the UFC should rush Rahiki up the featherweight ladder. Let him keep sharpening up his skills for next couple of fights before thinking of a big increase in competition. A reasonable increase in competition would be a name like John Yannis, who is 1-1 in the promotion, but coming off a 1st-round KO victory just two weeks ago.
Rahiki’s next fight: John Yannis
Brando Pericic
A 31-year-old heavyweight who is now 3-0 with three finishes will enter the top15. Pericic has proven to be a bright spot in a division that has very few of them. Unfortuantely, if you want to climb the heavyweight ladder as an exciting puncher, you’re going to need to get passed some less than favourable matchups in terms of fan-friendly action. Someone like Tyrell Fortune would test Pericic in ways he hasn’t been, thus far, while also providing a potential launchpad to the top10.
Pericic’s next fight: Tyrell Fortune
Louie Sutherland
Nice of Louie Sutherland to get his first victory in the UFC, but what can you say about Tai Tuivasa, at this point? This isn’t Curtis Blaydes and Josh Hokit; this is the version of heavyweight that fans are hoping gets filtered out. In the meantime, give Sutherland anyone who’s willing to stand and bang with him. Someone like Steven Asplund, who nearly beat Vitor Petrino his last time out, should be a fine option.
Sutherland’s next fight: Steven Asplund
