UFC confirms return to Australia, most likely without Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev

The UFC will be returning to Australia before the year is out. Unfortunately, welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena is unlikely to be involved.

Della Maddalena claimed the UFC welterweight title with an impressive decision defeat of Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 last month in Montreal, Canada. After his title win, all signs pointed to a title defense against former lightweight champ and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev, possibly in Australia toward the end of the year.

The UFC often stops in Australia in the last half of each year, so it was a reasonable assumption that the pair would meet down under. On Friday, the promotion confirmed plans to return to the city of Perth in September.

However, the UFC’s announcement about the card in Perth also specified that it will be a Fight Night card, not a pay-per-view. Given that Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev will be one of the biggest fights of the year, it will undoubtedly be on pay-per-view. That pretty much guarantees it won’t be in Perth.

Stay tuned… 👀 pic.twitter.com/xC26TWvlia

— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) June 20, 2025

Will Jack Della Maddalena fight at UFC card in Australia?

The planned September UFC card in Perth being a Fight Night just about guarantees Della Maddalena won’t be involved. Interestingly, it also suggests that featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski — a far more famous and accomplished Aussie than “JDM”—will also not be involved.

So who will headline the September UFC card in Perth? Former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker is a possibility. However, he’ll be fighting former ONE champ Reinier de Ridder in Abu Dhabi this summer, so that’s unlikely. If he’s not involved, Aussie and Kiwi fighters like Israel Adesanya, Carlos Ulberg, Dan Hooker, and Jake Matthews could be called upon to headline. Our bet is that New Zealand’s Ulberg is called up on for a high-profile assignment, perhaps opposite Jiri Prochazka or even Alex Pereira.