Written by Guilherme Cruz, MMA Fighting
The UFC is building up is next card in Australia.
On Monday, the promotion announced the first four fights set for UFC Perth, which takes place at RAC Arena on Sept. 28.
The official bouts are as follows:
Navajo Stirling vs. Rodolfo Bellato
Colby Thicknesse vs. Josias Musasa
Loma Lookboonmee vs. Alexia Thainara
Defending home court will be the undefeated Stirling (7-0), a top light heavyweight prospect that hails from nearby New Zealand, and Australia’s own Thicknesse (7-1).
Bellato (12-2-1, 1 NC) seeks redemption after a highly controversial bout against Paul Craig this past June, in which Bellato appeared to be struck by an illegal upkick and was unable to continue fighting. However, several fighters weren’t convinced by Bellato’s reaction, and UFC analyst Anthony Smith later accused Bellato of “trying to get a cheap win.” Bellato has refuted the accusations.
Thicknesse faces Musasa (8-1) in a bantamweight bout. Both fighters seek their first win, with Thicknesse losing his UFC debut to Alexandre Topuria, the brother of lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, and Musasa coming off of an upset loss to veteran Carlos Vera.
Choi (16-4-1) is undefeated since returning in 2023 after being out of action for over three years. He fought Kyle Nelson to a majority draw in his comeback fight, then scored back-to-back knockouts of Bill Algeo and Nate Landwehr. His featherweight opponent Daniel Santos (13-2) is also on a three-fight unbeaten streak, most recently scoring a unanimous decision win over Jeong Yeong Lee this past May.
Lookboonmee (10-3) and Thainara (12-1) have been making waves at 115 pounds, with both looking to move closer to the top 10 of the division with a win. This past April, Lookboonmee defeated Istela Nunes to extend her current winning streak to four, while Thainara made an impressive UFC debut by submitting Molly McCann in March in what would turn out to be McCann’s final fight.
A main event is yet to be announced for UFC Perth.