The UFC’s return to Perth had fans buzzing. Every time the Octagon lands in Western Australia, the energy hits different — from title fights to local stars lighting up the RAC Arena. UFC 305 brought Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya. This time, it’s a Fight Night for the very first time in the city, headlined by Carlos Ulberg and Dominick Reyes. On paper, it looked stacked. But as any seasoned fan knows, fight cards rarely make it to showtime untouched.
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And that’s exactly what happened here. Multiple cancellations started chopping away at the undercard, but one blow hit harder than the rest: the co-main event. What was supposed to be Junior Tafa vs. Ibo Aslan — a clash between knockout artists — got yanked just days before the event. Suddenly, fans were asking the same question: what went wrong?
Reason behind Tafa vs. Aslan fight cancellation
The light heavyweight showdown was set to be a breakout moment for Junior Tafa. Coming off a tough decision loss to Mohammed Usman, the Aussie powerhouse wanted redemption in front of a home crowd. His opponent, the dangerous Turkish striker Ibo Aslan, was equally hungry to cement his spot.
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But then, disaster. Tafa suffered an injury in fight week. Aslan broke the news himself on Instagram, writing: “My opponent pulled out because of an injury. Get well soon, brother. But this fight must happen again.”
With Tafa sidelined, the UFC explored options, but Aslan refused a late replacement. The promotion scrapped the bout altogether, leaving Perth without its original co-main.
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Stepping into the void is local favorite Jimmy “The Brute” Crute. Known for his wild scraps, Crute is fresh off a big win over Marcin Prachnio at UFC 318. He now gets the co-main spotlight against Croatian veteran Ivan Erslan. It’s not the matchup fans expected, but if there’s one thing Crute guarantees, it’s chaos.
Still, the shadow of Tafa vs. Aslan lingers. Fans know this fight had potential fireworks written all over it — and it may just get rebooked for a bigger card down the line.
Other major fight cancellations for UFC Perth
Beyond the co-main, the card has already seen three major cancellations. A highly anticipated featherweight bout between South Korean UFC veteran Doo Ho Choi and Daniel Santos was scheduled, but ‘The Korean Superboy’ suffered a last-minute knee injury, ruling him out. UFC initially replaced him with Yoo Joo-sang, but later moved the fight to UFC 320 for undisclosed reasons.
After that featherweight bout fell through, a lightweight fight followed. Australia’s Tom Nolan and USA’s Evan Elder were added to the main card. However, Elder pulled out due to a leg injury, and Charlie Campbell replaced him.
In total, the UFC Perth card has already lost four fights, and the weigh-ins are still ahead. Do you think the Carlos Ulberg vs Dominick Reyes card will see more cancellations, or will it remain intact? And also, are the fight nights increasingly getting bad? Let us know in the comments below.
Written by
Edited by
Jyotsna Rai