Jack Della Maddalena, the road back starts here.<\/p>\n
Anyone who watched Della Maddalena\u2019s fight at UFC 322 will to have a difficult time shaking the image of the then-welterweight champion wincing in discomfort as he spent much of a 25-minute main event pinned to the mat by Islam Makhachev. It was Della Maddalena\u2019s first title defense and it could be his last for a while if he doesn\u2019t perform Saturday in another headlining opportunity against Carlos Prates at UFC Perth.<\/p>\n
This is a pivotal matchup for both fighters, with Della Maddalena seeking redemption and Prates heading into enemy territory knowing an impressive performance could set him up for his own championship opportunity. Prates has had a thrilling UFC career so far, winning six of seven fights and cashing in Performance of the Night bonus checks in each of those victories.<\/p>\n
Della Maddalena vs. Prates should be a delight for striking fans and, on paper, this is one of the best matchups of 2026. Perth, you got yourselves a good one here.<\/p>\n
Also on the main card, lightweight veteran Beneil Dariush looks to slow hard-charging blue-chipper Quillan Salkilld, Tim Elliott faces Steve Erceg in a matchup of cagey flyweights, Marwan Rahiki takes on last-second replacement Ollie Schmid in featherweight action, and not one, but two heavyweight bouts lead us off as Shamil Gaziev fights Brando Pericic and the slumping Tai Tuivasa puts it all on the line against Louie Sutherland.<\/p>\n
Where: RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia<\/p>\n
When: Saturday, May 2. The seven-fight early preliminary card begins at 4 a.m. ET, followed by a six-fight main card at 7 a.m. ET. The entire event streams live on Paramount+.<\/p>\n
(Numbers in parentheses indicate standing in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings<\/a> and Pound-for-Pound Rankings<\/a>)<\/p>\n Jack Della Maddalena (2, P4P-12) vs. Carlos Prates (7)<\/p>\n Perth fans could be in store for an explosive knockout in the main event, but more likely at the conclusion of a tactical standup battle than an all-out brawl.<\/p>\n Jack Della Maddalena\u2019s rise to the top was anything but smooth. Even before he stepped into the octagon, \u201cJDM\u201d was 0-2 to begin his pro career and there\u2019s an alternate universe where he decided this whole MMA thing wasn\u2019t worth the trouble and instead focused on rugby or something. He stuck with it, rattled off 10 straight Ws, then hit the ground running in the UFC.<\/p>\n There were several moments where Della Maddalena\u2019s title hunt could have been derailed. In matchups with Bassil Hafez and Kevin Holland, the Australian standout was put to the test in hard three-round fights, and then he almost fell short on the cards against Gilbert Burns before blasting the longtime contender with a knee late in the third round. Then there was the five-round war with Belal Muhammad that made Della Maddalena a champion.<\/p>\n All of this is to say that Della Maddalena is unlikely to just run through Carlos Prates and vise-a-versa. These two have surely studied plenty of tape on each other, so they\u2019ll be doubly prepared for every feint, counter, and counter-counter that the other deploys. Expect a lot of tense, inconclusive clashes, with each fighter throwing strikes that are just inches away from ending things.<\/p>\n After Della Maddalena\u2019s humbling loss to Islam Makhachev, I predicted he\u2019d grow exponentially from his first UFC defeat. So I\u2019m picking him based on assumptions. I\u2019m assuming he\u2019s leveled up his striking defense. I\u2019m assuming he won\u2019t let Prates take him down in the off chance Prates decides to wrestle. I\u2019m assuming Della Maddalena\u2019s mental game is stronger than ever. This could all be wrong and Prates could leave him flat on his back as he has so many others.<\/p>\n Della Maddalena by knockout, Round 3.<\/p>\n Beneil Dariush (13) vs. Quillan Salkilld<\/p>\n Beneil Dariush, for all you\u2019ve done and for what is about to be done to you Saturday night, we salute you.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s not sugarcoat it, this matchup is meant to showcase Quillan Salkilld and officially announce him as a top 15 fighter in the lightweight rankings. Dariush is by far the most accomplished opponent Salkilld has faced yet, so this would be a meaningful win for Salkilld even if Dariush\u2019s best days are behind him.<\/p>\n Skillwise, Dariush still has what it takes to tussle with top 155ers, but it\u2019s clear as day his reflexes and durability aren\u2019t what they used to be. His idea of defense has always been to hit the other guy first and while that\u2019s led to plenty of success in the past, it\u2019s not a sound strategy against the younger Salkilld. Dariush\u2019s chin is eventually going to get tested and I don\u2019t like its chances of holding up for long.<\/p>\n Salkilld also has more than enough grappling to keep Dariush off of him, meaning there are few paths to victory for Dariush, even given his sizable experience advantage. I see Salkilld knocking him out in the first.<\/p>\n Tim Elliott vs. Steve Erceg (14)<\/p>\n Tim Elliott loves to play the spoiler and he\u2019s going to give Steve Erceg plenty of trouble. The one-time UFC title challenger proudly describes his style as \u201cawkward,\u201d and he lives up to that description every time he goes in there to scrap. Whether it\u2019s his herky-jerky movement or his relentless ground game, Elliott will force Erceg to be his best version of himself or risk embarrassment in front of the home crowd.<\/p>\n Fortunately for Erceg, the name of the game for him is consistency. It\u2019s his steady demeanor that will help him avoid frustration as Elliott jukes and slips around the cage. Offense might be hard to come by early on, but Erceg\u2019s patience will eventually be rewarded as he outboxes Elliott. I\u2019m even more excited to see these two battle on the mat, because Erceg has an effective if unspectacular ground game, and he\u2019s just as likely to catch a submission as Elliott is.<\/p>\n Love the matchmaking here and hate to see either fighter lose, but I think Erceg gets the decision.<\/p>\n Marwan Rahiki vs. Ollie Schmid<\/p>\n So this is a strange one.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s own Jack Jenkins was originally in this spot, where he was expected to present a stiff challenge to the undefeated, but unproven Marwan Rahiki. An injury forced Jenkins out, leading to the unheralded Ollie Schmid getting the call on less than a week\u2019s notice, so fans are still getting an Aussie to root for, but one in a far less favorable position.<\/p>\n To put it nicely, the 25-year-old Schmid is nowhere near a UFC-level product, even considering how far the bar has been lowered in recent years. He\u2019s 4-2, with all but one of his wins coming against an opponent who has zero wins, and he has a respectable smattering of amateur experience as well. Oh, and he trains at City Kickboxing. That\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n Rahiki should have this. BUT\u2026 if Schmid were to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year, it would be because Rahiki has been fairly hittable even as he\u2019s worked his way to an 8-0 record. There is absolutely a world where Schmid goes for broke and smacks Rahiki with the kind of unorthodox strike you\u2019d only see on the regional scene and destroys dozens of ill-advised parlays.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not expecting it, though.<\/p>\n Shamil Gaziev vs. Brando Pericic<\/p>\n This is quite the clash of styles we have with this heavyweight pairing, with Shamil Gaziev more inclined to look for power shots from range, and Brando Pericic always ready to do his best impression of a wood chipper if his opponent gets too close.<\/p>\n I\u2019m curious to see if Pericic will press the action here because he might not have a choice? Gaziev\u2019s recent loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta happened because he was overeager, so I assume he\u2019ll dial down his aggression down against the dangerous Pericic. Both fighters have one-shot KO power, the question is who can reach optimal range first.<\/p>\n Right now, it feels like no one at heavyweight is safe, so Pericic could join Josh Hokit as one of the division\u2019s surprising risers this year, but I favor Gaziev slightly because he\u2019s faced better competition (even if he hasn\u2019t always beaten them).<\/p>\n Gaziev by first-round knockout.<\/p>\n Tai Tuivasa vs. Louie Sutherland<\/p>\n I shouldn\u2019t. But I\u2019m doing it. I\u2019m picking Tai Tuivasa.<\/p>\n One thing I\u2019ve enjoyed about the UFC\u2019s matchmaking this year is that it has been transparent about booking squash bouts where it\u2019s obvious who is supposed to win. Tuivasa is supposed to win here. That hasn\u2019t been the case in the majority of Tuivasa\u2019s fights during this brutal slump, but Louie Sutherland is just as susceptible to being knocked out as the fighter he\u2019s replacing, Sean Sharaf.<\/p>\n Certainly, Sutherland could just shoot in immediately and drag Tuivasa down with a single leg, but I don\u2019t think he\u2019s so explosive that he can just hoss Tuivasa to the canvas. He\u2019s going to throw punches first and that should be the only opening Tuivasa needs to finally do what he does best: land meat hammers on dudes\u2019 heads.<\/p>\n It will take less than a minute and Tuivasa will have his hand raised for the first time in over four years.<\/p>\n Cam Rowston def. Robert Bryczek<\/p>\n Junior Tafa def. Kevin Christian<\/p>\n Jacob Malkoun def. Gerald Meerschaert<\/p>\n Colby Thicknesse def. Vince Morales<\/p>\n Ben Johnston def. Wes Schultz<\/p>\n Jonathan Micallef def. Themba Gorimbo<\/p>\n Kody Steele def. Dom Mar Fan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jack Della Maddalena, the road back starts here. 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