At Friday’s early weigh ins (official results HERE), UFC heavyweight veteran Justin Tafa was forced to withdraw from the event due to illness. Tafa was expected to meet Octagon newcomer Louie Sutherland on the ESPN+ main card.
ESPN’s Australia X account announced the crushing news on Friday night. See it below:
Why is this such a big deal?
Well, UFC Perth has experienced a list of cancelations in just the past week. Last Thursday, the co-main event featuring Tafa’s younger brother, Junior Tafa, was removed from the card. Tafa apparently withdrew due to injury, according to his opponent, Ibo Aslan. Yesterday, the bad news continued when a welterweight clash between Oban Elliott and Australian prospect, Jonathan Micallef, was scrapped due to an illness to Elliott.
Despite the removal of Tafa vs. Sutherland on Friday night, UFC Perth is still expected to feature a total of 12 bouts Saturday night LIVE on ESPN+ from inside RAC Arena. Tickets haven’t sold all that well (according to some they have) and with another fight canceled there could be some empty seats when it’s all said and done.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Perth fight card on fight night, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matchups scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Perth news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Ulberg vs. Reyes” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.
