UFC Perth was a very successful event for the region as Oceanic fighters went 10-1 on the night with Ulberg capping the night off with a stunning knockout. UFC regulars like Jimmy Crute and Jamie Mullarkey got nice wins, prospects Tom Nolan and Colby Thicknesse got their hands raised, while Brando Pericic, Michelle Montague and Cam Rowston won their promotional debuts. Before we move onto UFC 320, let’s first take a look at what’s next for our main card winners.

Carlos Ulberg

People said the reason Carlos Ulberg wasn’t awarded a title shot despite his eight-fight win streak was due to a lack of a true signature win. The first half of his streak was filled with finishes, but against lower-level opponents. His last two wins were good in terms of name value, defeating Volkan Oezdemir and Jan Blachowicz, but were way too cautious, bordering on “boring” territory. Well, this spectacular first-round KO of Dominick Reyes in his first ever main event should finally seal the deal. Yes, there is a fight between Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr. next week, but those two are way too violent to have the winner come out unscathed and ready to turn around for a title shot. For that reason, Ulberg now currently holds a firm grip over the number one contender slot.

Ulberg’s next fight: Title shot

Jimmy Crute

Jimmy Crute looked on the brink of retirement after dropping his rematch to Alonzo Menifield back in 2023. But lo and behold, the Aussie is now on his first win streak in five years after two first-round submissions. Though they called it a rear-naked choke on the official decision, this one looked more like a “camel clutch.” Whatever you want to call it, Crute is now back on track. Crute now has a claim to fight for what he once held: a spot in the rankings. I think a meeting with “The Mountain Tiger” would make sense.

Crute’s next fight: Zhang Mingyang

Jack Jenkins

This was a nice bounce back win for Jack Jenkins, who was coming off a tough loss to Gabriel Santos in February. He earned a wide unanimous decision after controlling Ramon Taveras for most of the bout. Jenkins came into the UFC with quite a bit of promise, but an arm injury against Chepe Mariscal and the aforementioned loss to Santos have made it hard for him to garner any momentum. Let’s see if he can finally get a convincing streak going by not rushing him too quickly. I’d be curious to see how Jenkins would deal with a fighter like Fernando Padilla. Being 6’1” with a 76” reach, the Mexican is an interesting test for any featherweight.

Jenkins’ next fight: Fernando Padilla

Neil Magny

He has done it again. “The Haitian Sensation” came in as a big betting underdog, proceeded to lose the first two rounds, then pulled a rabbit out of his hat and found a finish in the third round. The 38-year-old Neil Magny now finds himself on his first win streak since 2020.

Believe it or not, there are still some welterweights out there who Magny hasn’t fought yet. A fight with Kevin Holland or Vicente Luque would interest me, but they’re both currently booked for next month. However, win or lose against Mike Malott, I think I slightly prefer the Kevin Holland fight.

Magny’s next fight: Kevin Holland

Tom Nolan

After a rocky start to his UFC career, Tom Nolan has now rattled off four consecutive victories. Despite being a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, this was Nolan’s first professional win by submission. It also marked the first time Charlie Campbell was submitted. Yes, the win was nice and kept Nolan’s momentum going, but he did get hit a bit too much for me to really push him up the ladder. I’d rather keep steadily increasing his level of competition than throw him to the wolves. There is a fight going down next month in Vancouver between veterans of the game Kyle Prepolec and Drew Dober: two 36-year-olds who should still be tough enough to test the young Australian.

Nolan’s next fight: Prepolec/Dober winner

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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

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If you count New Zealand’s Carlos Ulberg (let’s just call it Team Oceania), then all four bonuses winners on the much-maligned Fight Night card were local favorites. The event, which struggled to sell tickets, still produced some solid action, especially in the main and co-main events.

All four bonuses awarded were of the Performance of the Night variety. No Fight of the Night was handed out at UFC Perth.

In the co-headliner, Australia’s Jimmy Crute earned his second straight win, with what was announced as a rear-naked choke against Ivan Erslan. In reality, Crute appeared to catch the KSW veteran in something more akin to a Camel Clutch, cranking until Erslan was forced to tap.

There was no tap from Dominick Cruz in the main event – he was knocked out cold by Carlos Ulberg, who dropped him with a 1-2 then followed up with a few ground strikes. Ulberg, a City Kickboxing star known as “Black Jag,” has now won nine straight in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. It’s hard to envision a world where Ulberg doesn’t fight for gold next, though Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira 2 has to happen first.

The remaining two bonus winners at UFC Perth were Tom Nolan and Brando Pericic, both Australians. Pericic was making his promotional debut, and put away Elisha Ellison with some heavy punches from the top, blows that left Ellison down and out for some time.

After the bout, Pericic revealed that he had taken a $100,000 loan to pursue fighting in the UFC, and called for a bonus to help pay it off. Wish granted.

All four bonuses winners pick up the usual $50,000 U.S. on top of their purse (usual, that is, until the Paramount+ deal kicks in next year).

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Ulberg carried an eight-fight win streak into the headlining bout, while Reyes, resurgent after a rough patch, had won three straight.

Early on, Reyes worked from the outside, firing low kicks while Ulberg walked him down, occasionally lunging in. Very back-and-forth, with minimal action through the first couple of minutes. Reyes fanned on a high kick about two minutes in, which still drew a gasp from the crowd in Perth. A brief exchange came shortly thereafter, but the feeling out continued, neither man opening up. Ulberg would target the body, landing once or twice, while Reyes appeared to have landed little at all.

The lack of action, the chess match, ended moments later. Carlos Ulberg connected, first with a jab, then hard with a right hand, rocking Reyes and sending him toppling over to the mat. If there was any hope of Dominick Reyes recovering, it was quashed when “Black Jag” added a few follow-up strikes, removing any question as the ref came in to make the save.

A statement victory for City Kickboxing’s Carlos Ulberg, who is almost certainly the lead candidate to face the winner of Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira 2. Following the win, he revealed that UFC exec Hunter Campbell had suggested they’d take him out to the title fight. As for a message to whoever is champ next month, “I’m coming!” bellowed Ulberg.

Official Result: Carlos Ulberg def. Dominick Reyes by KO, Round 1, 4:27

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The Perth Fight Night event had taken several hits, leading to an improved Crute, coming off a victory over Rodolfo Bellato, taking on the 0-2 KSW vet Erslan.

Crute landed a takedown early in Saturday’s opening round, and while Erslan got back to his feet, he had one problem: he wound up carrying Crute like a backpack. Crute would end up sweeping as they went to the ground, getting to mount. After that, it was Crute taking the back and working to flatten out Erslan. He didn’t even need to do so fully, instead cranking on the neck, arms under the chin. Erslan looked to be in some serious discomfort and was quickly forced to tap!

Since returning from a hiatus earlier this year, Jimmy Crute is now undefeated through three fights, with a 2-0-1 record. With the Erslan win at UFC Perth, he’s won back-to-back fights for the first time since 2020.

Announced as a rear-naked choke, when questioned about what to call the submission by Paul Felder, Crute replied “I don’t know, but I f*cking love it!” Crute then called for a spot on a yet-to-be announced card in Sydney, Australia in February.

Official Result: Jimmy Crute def. Ivan Erslan by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 3:19

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Taveras, a Dana White’s Contender Series alum, had missed weight for the bout, albeit by just a single pound. That’s after moving up to featherweight from 135lbs, where he’d missed weight for both his first Contender Series fight (he’d come back later in the season and win his second), and his UFC debut.

Lots of feeling out in this one, with Jenkins circling and Taveras chasing. Jenkins would find some success when he engaged, especially with his kicks. Speaking of kicks, however, a low blow by Taveras landed hard around the midway mark of the opening frame, though Jenkins opted to continue almost immediately. A wise decision, as a Jenkins body kick hurt Taveras, and Jenkins followed up, slinging leather.

Round two saw Taveras land a left hand early, while Jenkins continued to circle and work low kicks. Ramon closed the distance, tying Jenkins up and leaning on him – but again, Taveras landed low, this time with a knee. And this time, Jenkins took time to recover, with the ref immediately separating the pair.

Back underway, Taveras seemed undeterred, firing a knee to the body as Jenkins came in. He’d answer a trio of leg kicks fired off by Jenkins with a left hand over the top. Late in the round, Jenkins would connect with a combination, then absorb a pair of left hands with his face. That led to a surprise takedown by Jenkins, who remained on top as the horn sounded.

Jenkins took the fight to the fence in round three, pushing Taveras up against the cage. A bit of grinding later, and Jenkins landed the trip, finding himself in half-guard. He was tight on Taveras, with no space to land shots, and soon earned himself a warning from the ref. Still, he was eating time off the clock while in a dominant position, with Taveras seemingly unable to escape from underneath him. After finally making it to the cage, Taveras made it up with under two minutes on the clock, only for Jenkins to jump guard. That backfired, with Taveras ending up on top himself.

It mattered not. Taveras was unable to get anything done on top, and Jenkins scrambled free with 20 seconds left. He practically jumped Taveras at the end of the round, unloading punches while Taveras was on his knees.

Official Result: Jack Jenkins def. Ramon Taveras by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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Matthews was finally getting his wish as he had called for a fight with Magny on multiple occasions.

Magny holds the record for both most fights and most wins at 170lbs in the UFC, having joined the promotion in 2013 off a stint on The Ultimate Fighter. As for the deceivingly young Matthews, he seemed like he was ready to turn a corner, being on his first three-fight win streak in five years.

ROUND 1: Matthews consistently pressured Magny back to the fence, but was having trouble finding opening across the Haitian Sensation’s long reach. Magny never let himself stay stationary along the fence by circling around or answering with forward blitzes. They both traded nice combinations before clinching. Magny successfully took Matthews to the ground, but saw his head get stuck in a guillotine attempt. Matthew didn’t let go of the grip and worked his way into a legitimate, fight-finishing attempt. The round ended on a strange sequence where the referee appeared to stop the action a second before the round-ending buzzer, which led Matthews to think he had won by submission. Magny immediately protested and the referee clarified saying the round was simply over.

ROUND 2: The Australian kept his pressure going, pushing Magny to the fence and forcing him to blitz forward in an attempt not to get stuck there. Matthews grabbed a front head lock, allowing him to get the fight down. His grappling advantage could be felt as he took Magny’s back and threatened a rear-naked choke, forcing Magny to give up mount in order to get out of it. Matthews then transitioned into a mounted triangle attempt, but teh savvy veteran’s survival instinct were enough to get him out of that hold, too. The 31-year-old Australian did a good job not let Magny back up and ended the round on top, firing a couple nicw ground-and-pound shots.

ROUND 3: Understanding he needed a finish, Magny came out with more urgency. Matthews landed a clean right hand, but Magny kept moving forward. Another takedown from Magny was countered with a guillotine from Matthews, which was threatening enough to force Magny to scramble out of it and let the Aussie back up. While getting his pattented clinch game going, Magny landed good right hand that hurt Matthews. The veteran smelled blood and pounced. He forced Matthews down and kept peppering him with shots that were just hard enough to make he wouldn’t fully recover. While down on the mat, Matthews left his neck exposed for just a quick moment, but that was enough for Magny to grab D’arce and squeeze his way to a tap out.

After dropping the first two rounds, the 38-year-old Neil Magny has somehow done it again. This marks the first time that Magny has won back-to-back contests since 2020. Very reminiscent of his comeback win over Mike Malott, Magny keeps finding ways to come out on top in fights he’s expected to lose.

Official Result: Neil Magny def. Jake Matthews by Submission (D’arce choke), Round 3, 3:08

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Justin Tafa, Junior Tafa, and Oban Elliott had all withdrawn from the card during Fight Week, while Doo-Ho Choi had previously dropped out. Four fights, four somewhat recognizable names, and an overall lack of star power had led to sluggish ticket sales for the promotion’s return to the RAC Arena on Saturday – not that the fighters themselves were likely to dwell on it.

Nolan started the first round with a good body kick at range. Campbell circled away and landed a good low leg kick of his own. Fighting out of the southpaw stance, Nolan was hit with a massive left hand that dropped him to the floor. Campbell marched forward looking to close the contest, but Nolan returned fire to keep the charging Campbell at bay. Midway through the first round, Campbell was getting the better of boxing exchanges on the inside. Both fighters stood and traded big blows in the center of the cage, with Nolan looking to do his work in the clinch.

A fast first round saw Nolan now on the attack and drop Campbell with a overhand right in the clinch. Pressing Campbell against the fence Nolan landed a takedown, expertly sliding his arm around the neck of his opponent. Moving to the back with full control of Campbell, Tom Nolan was able to lock in a rear naked choke submission. This was a massive win the young career of Tom Nolan, who just fought through adversity to finish another dangerous prospect in the division. At 6’3, Nolan has massive potential at 155-pounds.

In his post fight interview Nolan stated that he “just received his black belt” and was happy to get his first professional submission win.

Official Result: Tom Nolan def. Charlie Campbell by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:08

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Bellato was looking to douse the flames still smoldering from the firestorm of controversy that enveloped him following his last outing, a No Contest opposite Paul Craig. Many fans had pointed the finger at Bellato, accusing him of faking the effects of an illegal blow that had taken him out of the bout prematurely.

Perhaps wary of Stirling’s power, Bellato took the fight to the fence early, tying things up and seeking a takedown without much success. Stirling would eventually reverse, peppering Bellato with shots both before and after taking the dominant position. The pair then got off the fence, three minutes still on the clock, with Bellato firing a front kick, and Stirling a right hand.

The pair would continue to slug it out on the feet a little longer before Bellato again tied things up with just over a minute remaining. When they came out of that clinch, there was a brief firefight to close out the round.

Navajo Stirling landed a takedown early in round two, flipping the script. While not the most active on top and warned by the ref to keep working, Stirling was still showing a well-rounded game for a fighter with under 10 pro bouts. Stirling would ride out that position until the final minute of the frame; back on the face, Bellato walked forward, but Stirling met him with knees and kicks to the body. Bellato then landed a right hand, ripped the body with a left, then went upstairs.

Round three found Bellato coming out and putting the pressure on Stirling early on. Stirling in turn ripped the body, then both men changed levels simultaneously, cancelling each other out. Bellato would again tie things up against the cage, though they would not stay there long. At least not initially. They would end up clinching again, however, with Bellato trying to take the back while Stirling was on one knee. Navajo would escape, and later on they’d both fan on spinning attacks. Stirling the landed a right, and Bellato a jab, towards the final horn.

It was Navajo Stirling taking the victory after 15 minutes, improving to 8-0.

“Ibo Aslan, I think you’re f*cking dogsh*t,” Stirling said in a post-fight callout, referring to his originally scheduled opponent. “Let’s run it!”

Official Result: Navajo Stirling def. Rodolfo Bellato by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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Nicknamed the “Battle Giraffe,” Rowston had gone 1-1 in two Contender Series stints, earning his contract earlier this year and making the quick turnaround to appear at home in Australia for his first walk to the octagon.

The fight was started with Petroski looking to chop at the long legs of Rowston. Rowston was composed and looking for his spot as he did time a nice knee to the body. As the round went on Rowston was getting looser and mixing up his hands and kicks. Petroski went to the inside to get some back but Rowston landed a check left hook dropping him. Petroski threatened with the armbar but Rowston landed big ground and pound sending the ref in.

After the win, the towering middleweight noted that years ago, another famed middleweight had made his UFC debut in Perth – Israel Adesanya, who happened to be on hand for the performance. Rowston then cut a promo suggesting fans get onboard his train now, as it’s headed straight to the top. A memorable coming out for the DWCS alum.

Official Result: Cameron Rowston def. Andre Petroski by TKO (ground and pound), Round 1, 2:41

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