What a day (night if you’re in other parts of the world) of fights at UFC Perth yesterday, but it wasn’t without controversy.
Almost all of the Australian and New Zealand fighters won, with Jake Matthews being the only Australian fighter to lose, as the end of the round caused some confusion for the fighters and fans.
Controversy for the Celtic Kid
Let’s start right there, shall we? Matthews had caught his opponent, Neil Magney, in a guillotine choke. Referee Jim Perdios looked to have stopped the fight just before the end of the first round. When Magny protested, Perdios said the fight was still on, and it was the end of the round. On the replay, you can clearly hear Perdios say ‘he’s out’ and stop the fight before the siren went off to end the round.
Despite a strong showing in round two, Matthews was submitted in the third round by Magny. Matthews has every right to be upset with this one. He thought the fight had been stopped, and he threw his hands up in celebration. Perdios really needed to stick to his decision there, even if it was the wrong one. If Magny didn’t like it, then he could get it overturned to a no-contest and win.
Last night, Jake Matthews took to Instagram to say that the stoppage is under review with the state combat commission. Now we have to wait for a decision.
Montague wins in UFC debut
Kiwi fighter Michelle Montague was successful in her UFC debut, defeating Luana Carolina via unanimous decision.
Carolina seemed to have the better striking of the two fighters, but Montague’s grappling was as slick as it comes. Montague has a background as a wrestler, and it shows. She is training at American Top Team with UFC fighter and former PFL Featherweight Champion Kayla Harrison, which has only sharpened her skills.
Montague dropped from Featherweight to Bantamweight, coming into the UFC from the PFL. I’m not sure if that has something to do with her training with Harrison, but I feel like it plays into it. One of Dana White’s pet hates was when teammates who were in the same division would fight, but with Montague dropping down, they avoided the issue altogether.
Who should Montague fight next? Not sure just yet, but I would love to see her fight again as soon as possible and start racking up the wins.
The Balkan Bear is victorious in his debut
Another fighter who made their debut on this card was Brando Peričić, the first South Australian fighter to fight in the UFC.
Peričić, whose nickname is the ‘Balkan Bear’ (which is an excellent nickname), because of his Croatian heritage. Peričoć gave everything up to become a fighter, living out of his car while he trained to make it to the UFC. He has partnered with the top fight team in Oceania, City Kickboxing, so he is poised for great things.
What makes the Heavyweight division so great is watching massive men throwdown, and that’s what Peričić and his opponent, Elisha Ellison, did. Unfortunately for Ellison, he came off second best. However, Ellison might have big things in front of him as well.
Who should the ‘Balkan Bear’ fight next? I was thinking a fight with Chris Barnett would be a fun watch, but Barnett has a bit more experience, so maybe someone like Lukasz Brzeski or even Sean Sharaf would be better options.
Battle Girraffe with a statement win
Cam Rowston has been around the Aussie fight scene for years. From his debut in 2016 in the now-defunct Brace, Rowston has shown a willingness to do anything to get to the UFC, including going through the Contender Series twice.
A short turnaround from his win at the Apex didn’t faze Rowston, with his striking looking sharp, but that’s not a surprise when you train at City Kickboxing. I could see why some people may have doubted Rowston against a seasoned fighter like Andre Petrovski, but the Aussie never doubted the ‘Battle Giraffe’ for a second.
That’s another thing about Rowston that people are loving: it is his elite nickname. Many fighters prefer to choose generic fight names. There was an old article in Fight Magazine featuring a 2000s profile of Jim Miller, in which he mentioned that he would select the nickname ‘The Pitbull Assassin,’ a joke, obviously.
Looking forward to seeing who they match Rowston with next.
A ‘Big Train’ rolls through Perth
Tom ‘Big Train’ Nolan showed why he is destined for big things after his submission win over Charlie Campbell.
Campbell deserves credit, though. He put on a show for the crowd, but Nolan’s class showed through. He is a fighter who could be in for a big 2026. Nolan said that he is taking the rest of the year off as he is getting married (congratulations to the happy couple), and he plans to return in March.
In his post-fight interview, Nolan said he was keen to fight overseas. I would like to see him fight someone like Harry Hardwick in the UK. This also brings back the Aussie/England rivalry back to the Octagon.
Navajo Stirling is the epitome of a warrior
Navajo Stirling kept his MMA and UFC record intact with a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian Rodolfo Bellato.
Stirling and Rodolfo put on a good show; no doubt, some people might have thought that Stirling would make short work of the Brazilian fighter. Well, maybe it was just the Australian and New Zealand fans who believed that.
Bellato made Stirling work for the win, but it was easy to see that Stirling is going to be a future champion. As for who Stirling should fight next? Alonso Menifield or Dustin Jacoby would be good fights for the Kiwi.
That’s it for part one of The Day After. I will be back with Day Two tomorrow.
See you then!
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