UFC Fight Night Perth Betting Picks: Top Bets and Predictions

For the second time in just over three months, the UFC goes “down under” with its Fight Night card this weekend. The Octagon lands in Perth this weekend as UFC Perth takes place on Saturday, May 2, from the RAC Arena.

The main event will be a pivotal battle in the welterweight contender scene, as former champion Jack Della Maddalena takes on Carlos Prates.

This will be the first fight in JDM’s fifth year with the promotion. He started his UFC tenure 8-0, culminating with his upset of Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 to capture the UFC welterweight championship. This will be JDM’s first fight since dropping the title to Islam Makhachev, which snapped an 18-fight win streak he had since dropping his first two pro bouts.

Prates has won two straight and 13 of his last 14 fights. Prates is sporting a 6-1 UFC record, with his sole loss coming to Ian Machado Garry last year. Prates enters this fight off a a second-round knockout of Leon Edwards at UFC 322.

The co-main event will be a lightweight bout between Beneil Dariush and Quillan Salkilld. Dariush has lost three of his last four, entering this fight off a knockout loss to Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 322. Salkilld, who is 11-1, is 4-0 in the UFC, entering this fight off a submission win over Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 325.

The rest of the main card features Tim Elliott vs. Steve Erceg, Marwan Rahiki vs. Ollie Schmid, Shamil Gaziev vs. Brando Pericic, and Tai Tuivasa vs. Louie Sutherland.

BENEIL DARIUSH VS QUILLAN SALKILLD

Beneil Dariush has the experience edge in this matchup by far, and for him this is a fight he needs to “get right.” But Quillan Salkilld is currently one of the fastest rising stars in the sport, earning three finishes and three performance bonuses in his four UFC bouts thus far.

For Dariush to succeed, he’ll have to get around Salkilld’s power and three-inch reach advantage, look to get inside and take this fight to the ground. If he can do that, he might be able to go toe-to-toe well with Salkilld in wrestling. But the more the fight is standing and Salkilld is pressuring, it might be too much for the veteran to handle.

BET: Salkilld to win in under 1.5 rounds (DraftKings: -140)

TIM ELLIOTT VS STEVE ERCEG

Tim Elliott is a veteran who is showing he can still hang on the big stage, entering this fight with four wins in his last five fights, including a submission win over Kai Asakura last time out. Erceg had a notable quick rise up the ranks, needing just three wins to earn a title shot. Erceg even almost beat Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title; however, it started a three-fight losing skid that was snapped with a win over Ode’ Osbourne at UFC Vegas 109.

These two are both well-rounded, and Elliott seems to stay strong even at 39. This should be a fun, back-and-forth, technical battle, whether this fight is on the feet or on the ground. I’d lean to Erceg, but it’ll be hard for either man to score a finish.

BET: Fight to end via decision/points (FanDuel: -190)

JUNIOR TAFA VS KEVIN CHRISTIAN

It has been a severely tough time for Tafa in the Octagon since his UFC debut in 2023. He is 2-5 in the UFC, bringing his total MMA record down to 6-5. The fun thing about Tafa fighting is that there’s almost certainly going to be a finish. However, while he has the kickboxing background and power in his strikes, Tafa hasn’t done much to impress at either heavyweight or light heavyweight.

Christian comes into this bout 9-3 but having lost his UFC debut to Billy Elekana, who also holds a win over Tafa. Christian is also a big finisher, and while he’s less experienced than Tafa overall in combat sports, he’s got a lot of upward momentum between these two – and has a better skillset with his ground game.

BET: Christian via KO/TKO/DQ OR Submission (FanDuel: +225)