Live Now! UFC Perth ‘Ulberg vs. Reyes’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Sherdog’s live
UFC Perth coverage will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The event
is also known as
UFC Fight Night 260.

BETTING
PREVIEW | SCOUTING
REPORT | ODDS: Thainara (-240); Suphisara (+200)

Round 1

Kerfuffle after kerfuffle led to this event that at one time had
what would have been a record 17 books saw the tally plummet to 12
on fight night. The losses include both Tafa brothers, so fans will
have just one big-man battle tonight—and for a time, it was the
first bout of the evening. Instead, due to reshuffling, the curtain
jerker comes at 115 pounds. Suphisara (10-3, 7-2 UFC), the birth
name of the Thai fighter known as “Loma Lookboonmee,” shall be
called her combat name for the remainder of this write-up. As for
her opponent, she takes on the surging Brazilian Thainara (12-1,
1-0 UFC), whose wrangling of Molly McCann was so meaningful that
“Meatball” hung up her gloves—for now. Referee Matt Wynne will take
charge of the first bout of the morning, as it is 7 a.m. locally in
Perth today. The ladies rub the sleep out of their eyes during the
announcements and clap hands to signal that they are ready to punch
one another in the face repeatedly.

Thainara is the immediate aggressor, stalking the Thai down and
ultimately walking into a leg kick and an elbow. Thainara fires
back, but Lookboonmee stands her ground and pops her with a one-two
and a body kick. The Brazilian comes up short on her own one-two as
she circles around to try to find an angle in, and Lookboonmee is
evasive as can be and ready to counter. Thainara catches her with a
right hand down the pipe, and she uses the strike to surge forward
and press into a clinch. The takedown effort from her fails almost
before it materializes, and Lookboonmee thanks her for her push by
getting a tiny amount of space and booting Thainara upside the head
with her shin. Thainara shakes it off and lines up single strikes
down the middle, with her kicks largely inaccurate. Lookboonmee
steps in with an elbow, and Thainara gives her a look like, “We’re
throwing elbow stuff now” and fires off a spinning back kick. When
Lookboonmee bounces off the cage wall, Thainara rushes after her to
pursue a takedown.

On a redoubled effort, the Brazilian secures a trip takedown and
bowls Lookboonmee to the mat, where she lands in half guard and
goes right to smacking Lookboonmee around with short ground
strikes. Lookboonmee looks to cling to her foe, and she turns to a
side to stand while still being close enough to her foe to not get
caught with something. The Thai works to her feet with Thainara
still clinging to her. Using sheer horsepower, Thainara shrugs off
a flush elbow and wrenches Lookboonmee off her feet and drags her
to the mat, where she opens up with offense. Bludgeoning
Lookboonmee with offense, she finds an opening and grips hold of a
can opener on the back of the Thai’s neck. Lookboonmee is
uncomfortable but survives it, so Thainara transitions to nasty
12-to-6 elbows to complete the round.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Thainara
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Thainara
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Thainara

Round 2

Lookboonmee opens up by using distance strikes, keeping the
Brazilian off of her. Thainara answers her with her own offering of
kickboxing moves including a quick side kick, and she transitions
her way forward to tackle Lookboonmee to the floor. Thainara
smoothly completes the takedown and gets on top, where her offense
gets going in a hurry. Lookboonmee forces her way to her feet under
fire, and Thainara imposes her weight against her on the fencing
until Lookboonmee shoves her back. They trade body kicks, and the
Thai’s lands far more emphatically. Thainara pays it no mind and
opens up with a one-two to wing a spinning back kick. Lookboonmee
answers with another kick only for Thainara to crash the pocket and
go for a takedown. When Lookboonmee appears to turn the tables on
her and land on top, Thainara keeps the action moving and flips the
Thai to her back.

Thainara, in half guard, puts Lookboonmee flat on her back as she
starts driving down punches and the occasional elbow. The action
slows down as Thainara slowly but methodically works offense, and
sporadic boos from the few in the building at 7 am—again, this is a
morning card locally for Aussies—until Thainara starts putting more
mustard into her blows. This prompts Lookboonmee to give up her
back so she can work to her feet, and she succeeds in putting her
back to the fence as Thainara busts the nose open from her big
swings. Thainara clings to her opponent like mean-spirited Saran
Wrap, working her over with her fists and sharp elbows. With
seconds to spare, Lookboonmee gets space and starts brawling, and
Thainara not only welcomes it but puts her hands in the air to
celebrate that she got caught and also hit back hard. The horn
sounds.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Thainara
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Thainara
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Thainara

Round 3

Lookboonmee strikes first with a body kick, and Thainara
immediately snatches it out of the air and bullies her to the wall.
The ensuing scramble from a trip effort actually allows Lookboonmee
to get her foe to the floor, and Thainara pops back up and tries to
implement her own grappling. When clinched, Thainara peppers the
Thai with knees to the thigh, foot stomps and surprisingly
effective short kicks to the shin. The power advantage for the
Brazilian allows her to maintain these positions for prolonged
stretches, where she nullifies most of what Lookboonmee can offer.
Thainara elects to back off, and she has her hands high to guard a
head kick she knows is coming. When Lookboonmee plants her foot
back down, she connects with a solid elbow. This spurs Thainara
into a clinch push, where she stalls out Lookboonmee as she calmly
works her over.

Lookboonmee again gets some space and the two start trading body
kicks in a lower-intensity version of Frank Dux vs. Paco in
“Bloodsport.” One seemingly effective kick gets through from the
Thai, and Thainara grits her teeth and races forward to tie
Lookboonmee up. Thainara loops a hook in and knees Lookboonmee in
the face while pressed on the cage, and Wynne wants more from the
strawweights. Lookboonmee clings to Thainara’s wrist to keep her
trapped, and Thainara pushes off the fence with her foot to pull
the Thai to the floor in an unorthodox but extremely effective
takedown directly into back control. After a few seconds,
Lookboonmee is able to muscle her way to the side to get to a 50-50
position, and Thainara threatens with a calf slicer. The two
separate, and Lookboonmee sprints at her adversary and throws
everything and the kitchen sink at her. Thainara laughs and sticks
her tongue out, and she backs away until time expires. Expecting to
get her hand raised in a moment, Thainara celebrates by flopping
onto her stomach in the center of the Octagon and posing like a
Glamour Shot model. That’s one way to start off the morning.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Thainara (30-27 Thainara)
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Thainara (30-27 Thainara)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Thainara (30-27
Thainara)

The Official Result

Alexia Thainara def. Loma Lookboonmee via Unanimous Decision
(30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

BETTING
PREVIEW | SCOUTING
REPORT | ODDS: Pericic (-180); Ellison (+150)

Round 1

If these two names seem unfamiliar to you, do not feel bad. Both of
these promotional newcomers were previously booked on an episode of
Dana White’s Contender Series, only for the UFC to bump them onto
the card likely due to Pericic’s (4-1, 0-0 UFC) team affiliation. A
hulking member of City Kickboxing, “The Balkan Bear” will come in
about 24 pounds heavier than his foe, Ellison (5-1, 0-0 UFC). The
nicknames are a-flowin’ tonight, as Ellison’s preferred title is
“Snack Panther,” which is rock solid and quite original. The burly
brawlers with matching 100% finish rates will toe the line while
referee Mike Beltran watches on, and they do not tap gloves
together to initiate the melee.

Instead, it’s attack attack attack from Pericic, who puts his hands
and feet on Ellison right out of the gate. Ellison backs off, and
he takes a hefty low kick that lands with a thud and not a slap.
Ellison’s first strike, a windmilling right hand, gets Pericic’s
attention, but he is unable to land with an effective follow-up.
Pericic says “two can play that game” and loads up on a monster
right hand. Ellison goes squirrely as he takes additional damage
from Pericic charging at him with his fists flying. Ellison steels
himself and fires back, but not before getting clipped again.
Ellison gets a modicum of space and opens up with strikes, and he
pursues a takedown and presses the heavier man against the wall.
Ellison decides it is in his best interest to pull guard while a
larger heavyweight with a full head of steam and a lot of energy
from the crowd is about to be on top of him. This is the worst
strategy he could possibly employ, as “The Balkan Bear” mauls his
opponent with elbows on the way down. Pericic opens up with a
blistering flurry of left hands, and as the strikes pile up,
Ellison goes from being awake and alert to totally unconsciously
with his eyes rolling back in his head. Beltran steps in as he sees
that the City Kickboxing fighter’s work here is done, and he pulls
them apart. The crowd goes wild for the first local fighter on the
card getting the victory in dramatic fashion, but in the meantime,
Ellison is out on the canvas for an extended amount of time.
Thankfully, the Washington native comes to, and medical
professionals tend to him and give him some oxygen to come back
around.

The Official Result

Brando Pericic def. Elisha Ellison R1 1:55 via KO (Punches)

BETTING
PREVIEW | SCOUTING
REPORT | ODDS: Montague (-210); Carolina (+180)

Round 1

With local fighters on the board already—for the sake of
simplicity, athletes from Australia and New Zealand will be lumped
together into their continental category of Oceania—another
combatant from the region will test her mettle in her promotional
debut. With six wins all by rear-naked choke, Montague (6-0, 0-0
UFC) wants to snatch up another to make a statement against
Carolina (11-4, 6-3 UFC). With the former an ex-featherweight and
the latter a recent flyweight, they meet in the middle at 135
pounds but there may still be a notable size difference. Referee
Steve Perceval will keep things on the up-and-up for as long as
this one lasts, and he steps back as the women bump fists.

Montague is the aggressor right from the start, chasing the
Brazilian around the cage with rangy punches and a head kick.
Carolina shakes her head at her and fires back a stomp kick to the
knee. They trade hooks at the tail end of their swings, and
Carolina keeps her foe at bay a bit longer with a body kick and a
calf kick. A subsequent from kick from Carolina prompts Montague to
come towards her quicker, but Carolina circles away and potshots
her. Montague leans on her right hand to do something, and Carolina
grins at her. Montague punches her way into a tie-up, and Carolina
wants nothing to do with it and frantically fights her way out.
Montague swings her way in, and Carolina counters cleanly and jumps
around celebrating her success like a kid at Christmas. She catches
Montague coming at her two more times with her straight left hand,
and she beats Montague to the punch and gives her a Diaz-inspired
shrug. When Carolina fires off a one-two, Montague finally pushes
through to grip hold of the Brazilian.

Montague transitions from a body lock into a double-leg takedown,
and she lifts Carolina in the air and slams her to the floor. From
her back, Carolina lashes out with elbows, and one slashes open a
cut on top of Montague’s forehead. Blood from the head wound flows
immediately, dripping down into Carolina’s eyes. Carolina looks to
buck, but the seemingly heavier of the two is Montague as she does
not give Carolina much space. Montague opens up with
ground-and-pound in response to butterfly hooks from Carolina, and
Carolina takes advantage of a free moment to let go with some
upkicks including one that catches Montague. The Kiwi ignores it,
and Carolina wraps up an armbar when Montague climbs back into the
guard. Montague takes the necessary steps to walk over and get out
of the bad spot, and she moves into side control and sets up an
arm-triangle choke. Carolina ignores it and swats with punches
until the horn sounds.

Sherdog Scores

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Carolina
Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Carolina
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Carolina