UFC Perth suffers late blow as heavyweight pulls out with fractured nose

Apr 22, 2026 - 15:45

$UFC Perth suffers late blow as heavyweight pulls out with fractured nose$

UFC heavyweight Sean Sharaf has withdrawn from his contest against Tai Tuivasa in Perth next month.

Sharaf was scheduled to fight Australia’s own Tuivasa on the UFC Fight Night card, headlined by a top-ranked welterweight clash between Jack Della Maddalena and Carlos Prates.

Sean Sharaf punches Steven Asplund in a heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on December 13, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada — Sharaf has lost both of his fights in the UFC and was knocked out by Steven Asplund last time out in Las Vegas

However, the 32-year-old from Anaheim, California, took to social media on Tuesday to reveal that an injury has now ruled him out.

UFC Perth loses Sean Sharaf

“Sorry guys,” Sharaf captioned a post on Instagram showing a scan of his injury.

“I fractured my nose and won’t be able to fight on May 2.

“Going to get it fixed and look forward to getting back in there soon.”

The UFC will now have to find a replacement for Sharaf in the coming weeks.

Fan-favourite Tuivasa is a big draw for the Fight Night event, so they will likely want to keep the veteran heavyweight on the card.

Tuivasa is in desperate need of a win in the UFC, having not had his arm raised in the Octagon since knocking out Derrick Lewis in February 2022.

‘Bam Bam’ stopped Lewis with a vicious elbow at UFC 271, but has since suffered six consecutive defeats to the likes of Ciryl Gane, Alexander Volkov, and, most recently, Tallison Teixeira.

Who else is fighting at UFC Perth?

The main event of UFC Perth sees Della Maddalena return to action for the first time since dropping the welterweight title to Islam Makhachev.

‘JDM’ won the title against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 last May before suffering his first defeat in Dana White‘s promotion against current king of the division Makhachev.

Jack Della Maddalena of Australia is seen on stage during the UFC 322 Press Conference at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 13, 2025 in New York City — Della Maddalena is a former UFC welterweight champion

Carlos Prates of Brazil reacts to his knockout win over Leon Edwards of Jamaica in a welterweight fight during the UFC 322 event at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2025 in New York City — The Australian will likely get another shot at gold should he defeat Prates

He faces a stern test in Prates to decide who will be next to challenge for gold at 170lbs.

Like Della Maddalena, Prates has only lost once in the UFC to Ian Machado Garry, who is the favourite to fight Makhachev for the belt next.

After suffering a points defeat to the Irishman last April, Prates bounced back with a wild spinning back elbow KO of Geoff Neal at UFC 319.

Last time out, ‘The Nightmare’ knocked Leon Edwards out cold to hand the Englishman his first defeat by way of KO.

Also on the card in Western Australia, exciting local talent Quillan Salkilld looks to extend his undefeated UFC record in the co-main event against No. 12-ranked lightweight Beneil Dariush.

The 26-year-old scored a Knockout of the Year contender at UFC 321 six months ago.

Salkilld knocked Nasrat Haqparast out cold with a brutal head kick at UFC 321

Jack Della Maddalena of Australia reacts to his loss against Islam Makhachev of Russia in the UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 322 event at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2025 in New York City — ‘JDM’ returns to his homeland to face Prates in the main event of UFC Perth

And he is primed to surge into the rankings at lightweight with a win over Dariush.

Elsewhere, Australians Steve Erceg and Brando Pericic both feature high up the bill, with several more home fighters, including Cam Rowston and Junior Tafa, on the card.