The official weigh-ins for UFC Perth have been completed with all fighters successfully making weight except Gerald Meerschaert. The main event features Jack Della Maddalena versus Carlos Prates, both weighing in at 77.11 kg for welterweight. Meerschaert missed the middleweight limit by 1.81 kg, coming in at 86.18 kg instead of the required 84 kg maximum. He will be fined 30% of his purse, which goes to his opponent Jacob Malkoun. Other notable bouts include Beneil Dariush versus Quillan Salkilld at lightweight and Shamil Gaziev versus Brendo Pericic at heavyweight. The fate of the Meerschaert-Malkoun bout remains uncertain following the weight miss.
The UFC Perth weigh-ins are complete, with nearly every fighter on the card hitting their mark — but Gerald Meerschaert came in over the middleweight limit, casting doubt over his scheduled bout with Jacob Malkoun.
Meerschaert tipped the scales at 86.18 kg, a full 2.18 kg above the 84 kg middleweight maximum. The miss of 1.81 kg triggers an automatic 30 percent purse deduction, with that portion of his earnings transferred to Malkoun. Whether the fight proceeds remains unresolved.
The main event is set, with Jack Della Maddalena and Carlos Prates both weighing in at 77.11 kg for their welterweight headliner.
One of the more compelling supporting bouts pits eighth-ranked lightweight Beneil Dariush against fifteenth-ranked Quillan Salkilld. Dariush, a 37-year-old southpaw representing the United States out of Kings MMA, carries a record of 23-8-1 and brings a well-rounded game, averaging 2.11 takedowns per 15 minutes alongside a consistent 3.78 significant strikes per minute at 49 percent accuracy. Salkilld, 26, fights out of Australia for Luistro Combat Academy and enters at 12-1-0. The local product is a significant threat on the mat, averaging a remarkable 7.95 takedown attempts per 15 minutes, and his striking numbers are sharp — 5.16 significant strikes per minute at 57 percent accuracy.
Also on the card, Shamil Gaziev meets Brendo Pericic at heavyweight, while Australian flyweight Steve "Astroboy" Erceg, ranked ninth at 14-4-0, is also on the bill.
Why it matters
- Meerschaert's weight miss leaves the Malkoun bout in limbo and could affect Malkoun's preparation and payout
- Dariush versus Salkilld has lightweight rankings implications, with both fighters inside the top 15
- Salkilld's elite takedown volume will test Dariush's well-documented all-around durability in front of a home crowd
