UFC Perth loses welterweight matchup after fighter withdraws just days before event

An exciting welterweight clash has been scrapped from the UFC Perth card this weekend after one of the fighters pulled out due to illness.

The card will be headlined by a pivotal light heavyweight clash between Carlos Ulberg and Dominick Reyes, with Jimmy Crute going up against Ivan Erslan in the co-main event. Elsewhere, Jack Jenkins will go up against Ramon Taveras in a featherweight clash, and Neil Magny will test Jake Matthews in a welterweight fight. Justin Tafa is also set to return for a heavyweight barnburner.

However, the Oban Elliott vs. Jonathan Micallef fight that was set to go down on the UFC Perth prelims will no longer take place after 'The Welsh Gangster' was forced to withdraw from the bout due to health issues, as per the promotion.

Veteran MMA journalist Nolan King recently confirmed the news via an X post and wrote:

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"Oban Elliott vs. Jonathan Micallef is OFF Saturday's #UFCPerth, per promotion. Elliott illness."

Elliott has a professional record of 12-3 and was coming off a decision loss against Ko Seok-hyeon at UFC Baku in June. Meanwhile, Micallef has an 8-1 professional record and was riding high on a three-fight win streak. He was coming off a unanimous decision win over Kevin Jousset at UFC 312 in February.

Given that the 27-year-old was forced out of his bout against Micallef less than 48 hours away from the UFC Perth event, the promotion decided against a short-notice replacement. This is the second fight to be removed from the card after the light heavyweight clash between Junior Tafa and Ibo Aslan was canceled due to the Australian picking up an injury.

Nevertheless, the UFC Perth prelims feature exciting bouts like Navajo Sterling vs. Rodolfo Bellato, Jamie Mullarkey vs. Rolando Bedoya, Colby Thicknesse vs. Josias Musasa, and Cam Rowston vs. Andre Petroski.

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