The UFC returned to Perth, Australia, for only the third time in the company’s history, the last being in February 2023.
With a title on the line in an African grudge match, possibly a title eliminator at flyweight, a career crossroads fight at heavyweight and a momentum fight at lightweight with high stakes. The card at Perth Arena, also known as the RAC Arena, had 12 fights, half of which ended as stoppages.
TOP PERFORMER: KAI KARA-FRANCE
When the fight was announced between Kara-France and Steve Erceg, everyone was excited and expected fireworks. There was always a possibility of an early finish, but it was still a surprise when it happened.
Although Eroegg was coming off a loss in his last fight, it was a five-round unanimous points defeat to the flyweight champion Pantoja.
However, four minutes into the fight, Kara-France dropped Eroegg with a looping left. Erceg did well to withstand a barrage of punches to get up, but Kara-France dropped him again with a right to end the fight for his 13th first-round stoppage.
TOP PERFORMER 2: DRICUS DU PLESSIS
In one of the most intense and fierce rivalries in the UFC for some time, two very different African natives clashed for the UFC middleweight title.
It wasn’t a fight-of-the-night contender. But an edge-of-the-seat, gruelling, back-and-forth battle of skill, strength, toughness, will, determination, stamina, grit, intensity and warrior-like spirit.
The fight swayed from one to another throughout. When you felt de Plessis was getting the upper hand, Adesanya would take over and vice versa. In the end, du Plessis’ wrestling and strength told, as he got Adesanya down and submitted him in the fourth round.
TOP PERFORMER 3: CARLOS PRATES
Prates is starting to make a name for himself, and you can see why with his slick, accurate, smooth boxing and stinging power to give Li Jingliang his first ko loss.
He had already dropped and hurt Li at the end of the first. Then, in the second, he dropped Li again with a left, allowing him to get up, only to follow it with further left hands, then finished it with a devastating left hook to render Li unconscious.
That made it three stoppages from three fights in the UFC. He has stopped his last ten opponents and has not lost a fight since 2019.
Honourable mentions
Dan Hooker came into the fight as the underdog, although he had won his last two fights. Previously, he was 1-5 against better opponents. This fight saw a step up of opponent, in his rebuilding process.
The fight with Gamrot, who had only lost two of his nine UFC fights, was a war of attrition, where neither wanted to take a back step. But in the end, it was Hooker’s grit, determination and know-how that won it on a wafer-thin split points decision.
Mateusz Gamrot gave the Perth crowd a fight of the night with his battle with Dan Hooker. They say it takes two and tango, and he more than played his part where he came out on the wrong end of a split decision. But a rematch would be warranted and welcomed.
