Get ready, fight fans, the UFC is making its way back Down Under.
The promotion announced on Monday that it’ll be making its return to Perth, Australia on Sept. 28 for a Fight Night card.
The event will mark the banner’s fourth visit to Perth and first since UFC 305 in August 2024, when Dricus Du Plessis defended his middleweight title against Israel Adesanya by submitting the former belt-holder in the fourth round.
Although the promotion has not announced any matchups for the upcoming card, the fact that it’s a non-pay-per-view event essentially eliminates a couple of notable Aussie UFC champions from being featured.
Alexander Volkanovski claimed the vacant featherweight title against Diego Lopes back in April, while Jack Della Maddalena dethroned Belal Muhammad for the welterweight belt in May. Neither have their first title-defence fights scheduled as of yet, but it’s highly unlikely either will do so on a Fight Night card, especially since Della Maddalena is expected to take on former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, the UFC’s No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter, in his 170-pound debut.
A fighter who could represent Down Under for the event would be Robert Whittaker. The New Zealand native is scheduled to headline a Fight Night against rising star Reinier de Ridder at the end of July, and depending on how much damage he takes and how keen he is on competing close to home, the middleweight veteran would make sense to include.
It’s also worth noting that the Perth event will take place two weeks after the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford / Noche UFC 3 doubleheader and one week before UFC 320 in Las Vegas.
