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Fighters On The Rise | UFC Perth
Identifying Three Emerging Talents To Pay Close Attention To During UFC Fight Night: Ulberg vs Reyes This Weekend In Western Australia
Historically speaking, we’ve done a pretty solid job of pointing out talents to keep tabs on in this space whenever the Octagon touches down in Perth.
Two years back at UFC 284, rising welterweight prospect Jack Della Maddalena who had earned first-round stoppage wins in each of his previous three appearances, was set to face his toughest test to date in the form of Randy Brown. Two years later, Della Maddalena sits atop the division, having submitted Brown in the first round before adding four more wins to his resume to bring his overall winning streak to 18 as he readies to make his first title defense later this year.
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Last summer, Carlos Prates earned top billing as the up-and-comer highest up the UFC 305 card that merited a shout out. The Fighting Nerds representative was coming off wins over Trevin Giles and Charles Radtke, and was set to face Li Jingliang. “The Nightmare” continued his impressive rookie campaign by knocking out “The Leech.” He then rebounded from a loss to Ian Machado Garry earlier this year with a devastating knockout win over Geoff Neal last month at UFC 319.
This week, as UFC returns to RAC Arena for the fourth time with a jam-packed Fight Night event headlined by a critical light heavyweight clash, we’ve got three more ascending names for you to pay close attention to on Saturday evening.
Tom Nolan
“Big Train” has appeared in this space a couple times during his brief UFC tenure, including last year at UFC 305 where he faced Alex Perez in a bout he ultimately won by unanimous decision. Since then, Nolan has pushed his winning streak to three with another sweep of the scorecards on home soil in February, when he bested Viacheslav Borshchev at UFC 312 in Sydney.
All the things that were intriguing about Nolan following his contract-winning appearance on Season 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) remain intact and applicable as he heads into his second fight of 2025 and fifth UFC appearance: he’s still young (25) and boasts tremendous size for the division at six-foot-three with a 73-inch reach. He has good power and a well-rounded skill set, and has shown over his last couple outings that he’s improving his fight IQ and understanding of how to navigate the shark tank that is the UFC lightweight division.
We tend to want young fighters that impress us early on to just keep impressing us and making consistent big gains each time out because people doing that really captivates us all, but the reality of the situation is that development isn’t linear and the best thing that could’ve happened for Nolan was (1) losing his debut and (2) logging 30 minutes of Octagon time over his last two fights because he’s still just 10 fights deep into his professional career and there is no substitute for experience.
For every up-and-coming talent that goes on a lengthy winning streak and races into contention — or even claims a title — there are dozens of quality prospects that need more time or fail to put it all together. One key factor in many of those cases is the amount of time they were afforded to learn, develop, and grow.
This week, Nolan steps in with Charlie Campbell, who lost to Chris Duncan on Season 6 of the annual talent-search series, rebounding with a regional circuit win before posting victories in each of his first two UFC appearances. Another member of the New York contingent to make the move west to Las Vegas, Campbell has been out of action since out-working Trevor Peek in April of last year. He has a comparable makeup to Nolan and should serve as a stern test for the ascending Australian.
It’s good to see Nolan continuing to be brought along at a slower pace, but rest assured, if he continues stacking victories, you’ll find him barreling down the tracks towards the thick of the 155-pound division in no time.
Navajo Stirling
A member of the City Kickboxing crew, Stirling is the second of this week’s three DWCS grads garnering the Fighters on the Rise treatment.
The 27-year-old light heavyweight claimed his place on the roster with a second-round stoppage win over Philip Latu on Season 8, joining teammates Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker, and Carlos Ulberg, who headlines this weekend’s event in Perth opposite Dominick Reyes. Stirling made a quick turnaround to claim a victory in his promotional debut three months later against Tuco Tokkos. Earlier this year, the undefeated prospect picked up his second straight victory inside the Octagon and seventh consecutive win overall by registering a unanimous decision victory over Ivan Erslan at UFC 315 in Montreal.
Much of what was said above in regard to Nolan applies to Stirling as well, as he has good size, solid power, and a quality base as he ventures into the always tricky light heavyweight division. He’s also surrounded by an outstanding team that knows how to cultivate a contender, having help steer Ulberg from the Contender Series to headlining this weekend. As is the case with so many graduates from the annual 10-week fall series, Stirling just needs more reps, as he’s only seven fights into his MMA career and is still learning how to put everything together and play to his strengths inside the Octagon.
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Saturday night, he steps in with fellow DWCS grad Rodolfo Bellato in what should be a quality measuring stick moment for the New Zealander.
Bellato claimed his place on the roster the season prior to Stirling with a second-round stoppage win over then-unbeaten prospect Murtaza Talha and has since gone unbeaten over one of the strangest three-fight runs to open a UFC career in recent memory. He rallied to defeat Ihor Potieria in his debut in December 2023 and battled Jimmy Crute to a draw in his sophomore appearance before his fight with Paul Craig in mid-June was ruled a no contest after Bellato was hit with an illegal kick while grounded, which prompted a very odd reaction by the Brazilian.
All that aside, he’s still unbeaten when facing anyone other than Vitor Petrino, who has beaten him twice, and is riding a six-fight unbeaten streak into this weekend’s pairing with Stirling. His edge in experience make him a good dance partner for the CKB man on Saturday. How things play out will go a long way in determining what comes next for Stirling as he continues trying to work ahead in the 205-pound ranks.
Alexia Thainara
Thainara is the third DWCS grad in this triumvirate and second member of the illustrious Class of ’24 highlighted this week. She heads into her second start of her rookie campaign looking to build on a bonus-winning effort in her debut.
Representing the Ribas Family Academy, “Burguesinha” collected a unanimous decision win last season on Dana White’s Contender Series to claim her place on the roster and then made waves in her debut by marching out to the Octagon in London and promptly submitting “Meatball” Molly McCann in her MMA swan song. The beloved Scouser hanging up her four-ounce gloves ended up overshadowing Thainara’s performance, but it was a dominant showing by a debuting fighter against a skilled and experienced veteran, and one of those efforts that should have prompted loads of people to put a little tick next to the Brazilian’s name as “one to watch” going forward.
It’s often difficult to get a real read on where a prospect’s levels are at before they hit the UFC because opportunities against quality competition are scarce on the regional circuit. Thainara, however, earned an early win over Rayanne Dos Santos, who preceded her in the Octagon, and her contract-earning win came against Rose Conceicao, who was undefeated at the time and coming off a title-winning performance under the LFA banner.
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This weekend, the energetic Brazilian faces off with Loma Lookboonmee, who has quietly put together a four-fight winning streak and 7-2 record to begin her UFC tenure. Still only 29 years old, the Thai standout has shown steady improvement throughout her career, and her balance, experience in the clinch, and overall edge when it comes to competing in high level bouts will all be something Thainara will need to overcome in order to continue moving forward this weekend.
The strawweight division is at the outset of an interesting time, with champion Zhang Weili poised to relinquish her title while venturing up to challenger for flyweight gold. Meanwhile, Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba are readying to fight for the vacant belt at UFC 321 in late October. It feels like a moment where a couple strong performances will be enough to put someone like Thainara on the rankings radar, and from there, all it takes is a couple more to establish yourself as a contender.
Don’t be surprised if she’s done exactly that within the next couple of years.
UFC Fight Night: Ulberg vs Reyes took place live from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on September 27, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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