Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back in Perth, Western Australia, later TONIGHT (Sat., Sept 27, 2025) to stage UFC Perth from inside RAC Arena featuring a Light Heavyweight showdown between Carlos Ulberg vs. Dominick Reyes. In the co-main event, Jimmy Crute battles Ivan Erslan in a fun 205-pound showdown.

What’s Hot:

With a new champion in Magomed Ankalaev sitting atop the 205-pound division, there are several challengers chomping at the bit to get the chance to fight for the world title, after Alex Pereira attempts to win it back, of course. One of the main favorites to get a title shot is none other than Carlos Ulberg, who is currently scorching hot with seven straight wins inside the Octagon with five stoppages, good enough to put him at No. 3 in the division. Ulberg is coming off an impressive win over former division king, Jan Blachowicz, which was without a shadow of a doubt the biggest test of his career. Now, “Black Jag” has one more obstacle ahead of him before he reaches the promised land in the former of an ex-title contender who has had a career resurgence as of late.

Reyes at one point seemed to be on his way out of the promotion on the heels of four straight defeats from 2020 to 2022, but something switched and has now won three straight, all via knockout. He is currently ranked No. 7 in the division, but a win over Ulberg will shoot him into the Top 5, though I don’t know if a title shot would be in order. Nevertheless, a win here would be huge for Reyes’ career and get him one step closer to a title he almost won way back at UFC 247 after giving former champion, Jon Jones, all he could handle. This will be his chance to get closer to the title shot he has been unable to lock down since that tough loss to “Bones.”

What’s Not:

Let’s keep it real, this card simply isn’t doing much for anyone. Aside from the main event, the rest of the card — both main and “prelims’ — is lacking. Granted, there were several setbacks that hurt it, but it’s not like there was much to get excited about before it started to crumble. Perhaps that explains low ticket sales.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card/Injuries:

A Light Heavyweight bout between Junior Tafa and Ibo Aslan was scheduled for this event before Tafa sustained an injury and was forced out. There was no replacement found for Aslan so he was removed from the event. Tom Nolan and Evan Elder were expected to meet in a Lightweight bout at the event before Elder pulled out and replaced by Charlie Campbell. Nolan is currently on a three-fight win streak, and now “Big Train” is out to improve to four straight. As for Campbell, he is also on a three-fight win streak, which includes winning his first two challenges inside the Octagon. And finally, Oban Elliott was expected to meet Jonathan Micallef in a Welterweight before Elliott pulled out due to illness. Due to the short notice, no replacement was found. The day before the fight, Justin Tafa fell ill and was forced out of his scheduled bout against newcomer Louie Sutherland, further adding to the event’s decline in intrigue.

New Blood:

Cameron Rowston will be making his UFC debut against grizzled vet, Andre Petroski. Rowston is on a four-fight win streak and earned his way into the big show via the Contender Series. As for Petroski, he is coming off a tough loss at the hands of Edmen Shahbazyan, so if he can ruin Rowston’s debut, it would be a great confidence booster. Also, Brando Pericic and Elisha Ellison will make their debuts against one another in a Heavyweight bout. Pericic is just five fights deep into his pro MMA career with a record of 4-1 with first four-round stoppages. As for Ellison, he is 5-1 in his own pro career with five first-round stoppages. This one will likely end early.

Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League (PFL) veteran, Michelle Montague, will finally get to show her skills inside the Octagon as he battles Luana Carolina. Montague is coming in with a record of 6-0 with all of her wins coming by way of submission. That said, Carolina already knows she has to avoid getting to close to her at all costs, and a striking attack should be her main objective if she wants to win her fourth in a row.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

We have already discussed several of the undercard action in our “New Blood” section, so let’s take a deeper diver at the rest of the “prelims,” shall we?

A 205-pound fight between Navajo Stirling and Rodolfo Bellato will headline the undercard. Both men are streaking at the moment, as Stirling has won seven straight to kick off his career with four knockouts to speak of. He is 2-0 so far under the UFC banner, so Bellato is out to stop him from getting his third straight win. Speaking if which, Bellato is unbeaten in his last six outings. Under the UFC banner, he has one win, a draw and a no contest (NC), so he needs to get back into the win column, officially.

Both Colby Thicknesse and Josias Musasa kicked of their UFC careers with losses to Aleksandre Topuria and Carlos Vera, respectively. Neither of them want to start off with two straight losses because it could be a one-way ticket out of the company without ever getting a chance to get anything going. One will save his UFC career while the other will be nervous in the weeks to come worrying about a pink slip possibly looming.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Jamie Mullarkey has lost two in a row and is 1-3 in his last four fights, while Rolando Bedoya has lost his first three fights inside the Octagon. This is definitely a loser leaves town match because I just don’t see how the UFC matchmakers will be convinced to keep the loser around taking up a spot on the bloated roster. There is indeed a lot on the line in this fight.

LIVE! Stream UFC Perth On ESPN+

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT HOSTILITIES! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Sat., Sept. 27, 2025, for UFC Perth, with a stacked ESPN+ fight card. In the main event, rising Light Heavyweight contender, Carlos Ulberg, faces resurgent former 205-pound title challenger, Dominick Reyes, in a high-stakes clash scheduled for five, five-minute rounds. In UFC Perth’s co-headliner, Australian favorite, Jimmy Crute, takes on Croatian powerhouse, Ivan Erslan, both of whom are vying for a pivotal win in the 205-pound division. All that and SO MUCH MORE!

Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!

Where to Buy:

• Check price at STREAM NOW

Interest Level: 5/10

Jimmy Crute and Ivan Erslan will throw down in the co-main event. Crute will have the hometown advantage as he fights out of New South Wales, Australia and is coming off a big win over Marcin Prachnio. He is, however, just 1-3-2 in his last six outings, so that victory likely saved his UFC career. As for Erslan, he is 0-2 so far in his UFC career, so if he does not get a win here, it could be the end of the road for him.

In Featherweight action, Jack Jenkins will tango with Ramon Taveras. Jenkins is coming off a third-round submission loss to Gabriel Santos earlier in 2025 earlier this year. He’s 4-2 so far in the UFC Octagon since debuting with a bang in Perth in 2023, and now he is back where it all started. Jenkins has evolved into an well-rounded fighter because while he prefers to stand and bang his wrestling is nothing to joke about. As for Taveras, he is an even 1-1 inside the Octagon after earning his contract on the Contender Series with a 29-second knockout. His debut was a controversial split-decision win over Serhiy Sidey in 2024, but he dropped a unanimous decision to Davey Grant. His best bet is to keep the fight standing because he isn’t exactly a great wrestler.

Jake Matthews is currently on a three-fight win streak, most recently submitting Chidi Njokuani via rear-naked choke in the first round this past summer. Matthews has seemingly found his groove, but he has a tough task ahead of him against one of the most experienced fighters he’s ever faced in Neil Magny. Indeed, this will be fight number 26 for Magny inside the Octagon, and he holds the record for most welterweight wins in UFC history. He recently rebounded from back-to-back first-round knockouts to Carlos Prates and Michael Morales with a TKO win of his own over Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos earlier this year.

Enjoy the fights!

UFC Perth Fight Card:

UFC Perth Main Event On ESPN+:

205 lbs.: Carlos Ulberg vs. Dominick Reyes

UFC Perth Main Card On ESPN+ (10 p.m. ET):

• 205 lbs: Junior Tafa vs. Ibo Aslan — CANCELED (details here)
• 205 lbs.: Jimmy Crute vs. Ivan Erslan
• 145 lbs.: Jack Jenkins vs. Ramon Taveras
• 170 lbs.: Jake Matthews vs. Neil Magny
• 265 lbs.: Justin Tafa vs. Louie Sutherland – CANCELED (details here)
• 155 lbs.: Tom Nolan vs. Charlie Campbell

UFC Perth ‘Prelims’ Under Card On ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

• 205 lbs.: Navajo Stirling vs. Rodolfo Bellato
• 185 lbs.: Cameron Rowston vs. Andre Petroski
• 170 lbs.: Oban Elliott vs. Jonathan Micallef – CANCELED (details here)
• 155 lbs.: Jamie Mullarkey vs. Rolando Bedoya
• 135 lbs.: Colby Thicknesse vs. Josias Musasa
• 135 lbs.: Michelle Montague vs. Luana Carolina
• 265 lbs.: Brando Pericic vs. Elisha Ellison
• 115 lbs.: Loma Lookboonmee vs. Alexia Thainara

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Perth fight card, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To checkout the latest and greatest UFC Perth: “Ulberg vs. Reyes” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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