UFC Perth: Ulberg vs. Reyes Predictions

UFC Fight Night 260: Ulberg vs. Reyes takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. – and we’ve got our UFC predictions for all the fights below, and you can place your bets with the best betting sites Australia has to offer!

UFC Fight Night 260 Predictions

—

Carlos Ulberg vs. Dominick Reyes Prediction

Carlos Ulberg has managed to put together an impressive eight-fight winning streak in the 205lb division and now goes up against Dominick Reyes, who has put together three wins in a row in the past 18 months.

The 34-year-old Ulberg wasn’t an instant hit in the Octagon, suffering a KO loss in his debut back in 2021, but he soon found his feet and has developed nicely in the years since. It could be argued he hasn’t faced the toughest line-up of opponent so far to reach No.3 in the rankings though, with his best win coming last time out against a 42-year-old version of Jan Blachowicz. Still, Ulberg is an athletic, technical kickboxer with a good jab who attacks in volume with a potent blend of speed, power and precision. Meanwhile his ground game seemed a bit lacking when he first arrived in the UFC, but it’s come along since then and he has solid takedown defense to help keep the action upright.

It’s not all that long ago that the 35-year-old Reyes looked in danger of being cut from the UFC, which would have seemed unthinkable back in 2020 when he gave Jon Jones one of his toughest 205lb title fights, only narrowly losing out on the scorecards. However, Reyes wasn’t able to capitalize on the recognition that brought as he’d then go on to lose his next three fights via strikes in a manner that suggested his chin had deserted him, which was then followed by a long lay-off. However, Reyes then returned unexpectedly in the summer of last year and turned back the clock by KO’ing Dustin Jacoby, followed by TKO’ing Anthony Smith and then a KO of Nikita Krylov as well. There’s a renewed sense of belief in Reyes now that he’s been able to serve up reminder of his striking prowess, and he still has good athleticism, volume and footwork, and can also work from the clinch and wrestle too. His recent opponents weren’t at their best when he faced them though, so some linger doubts remain heading into this match-up against a much more in-form opponent.

It’s been good to see Reyes unlikely late career comeback, and offensively he’s capable of mixing it up on the feet here, but in a back-and-forth battle I favor Ulberg’s mixture of good power and better durability to win out, leading to a 2nd round TKO win.

Carlos Ulberg to win by TKO in Rd2

Bet Now

—

Jimmy Crute vs. Ivan Erslan Prediction

Jimmy Crute picked up his first win in six fights back in May and now goes up against Ivan Erslan, who has gone 0-2 in the Octagon so far.

The 29-year-old Crute is a rugged all-rounder whose UFC run got off to a solid start with four wins in his first five fights. Crute struggled after that though, failing to win his next four fights, including being finished twice in the first round, and then took a lengthy break in 2023, citing an “unhealthy obsession with the sport.” He returned to action early this year with a majority decision against Rodolfo Bellato and then got a much-needed win over Marcin Prachio by first-round submission to lift some of the weight from his shoulders. Crute is a capable striker who tends to stick to tried and tested fundamental punches and kicks, but while he can be a threat offensively, the trade-off is that loading up on his strikes does leave holes in his defense. Crute benefits from being able to mix in takedowns and has a respectable submission game to go alongside his ground-and-pound, though he has also been submitted twice in the Octagon.

The 33-year-old Erslan hails from Croatia and holds a 14-5 career record, having fought frequently for the respected KSW promotion out of Poland for a few years prior to joining the UFC last year. Erslan had actually only gone 3-2 in his last five fights before his arrival though, including a KO loss, but each of his victories were fast finishes, and that’s something the heavy-handed striker has had a knack for doing throughout his time on the regional scene. Erslan has yet to find a win in the UFC though, losing on the scorecards in his first two attempts, which highlights the need for him to prove he can still get the job done if his opponents are able to withstand his early onslaught.

Crute holds the home advantage here and I think this will prove to be a favorable stylistic match-up as he has the broader skill-set, and I can see him timing takedown opportunities and then getting the better of the striker on the mat to set up a 2nd round submission finish.

Jimmy Crute to win by submission in Rd2

Bet Now

—

Jack Jenkins vs. Ramon Taveras Prediction

Jack Jenkins has lost two of his last three UFC fights as he now attempts to turn things around against Ramon Taveras, who has gone 1-1 since joining from the Contender Series.

The 32-year-old Jenkins has good physicality and pressure on the feet, and has a fearsome reputation when it comes to his leg kicks in particular, having broken several opponents legs in the past. He compliments that with solid boxing work to the head and body, and can also effectively mix in some wrestling and work for ground-and-pound on the mat. Jenkins is prone to the occasional blunder though, and he has been submitted three times, including in his last fight.

The 31-year-old Taveras is a boxing-orientated striker with fast hands who can fight aggressively, and loading up on power punches and combination work, but also has a nice jab and counter-striking ability too. He is hittable however, has a couple of losses via strikes, but still prefers to keep the fight standing even though he did have a few submission wins on his regional record.

I think Jenkins is the more well-rounded fighter here and feel he’ll use that to get the better of Tavares on the mat and win via ground-and-pound in the 2nd round.

Jack Jenkins to win by TKO in Rd2

Bet Now

—

Jake Matthews vs. Neil Magny Prediction

Jake Matthews is on a three-fight winning streak as now prepares to go up against Neil Magny, who won his only fight of 2025 so far via TKO just last month.

For a while there the 31-year-old Matthews appeared stuck in a cycle of ‘win-one, lose-one’, so he’s done nicely to now break free of that and string together a few victories. Even when first arriving in the UFC at a young age, Matthews had a fairly solid skill-set, though he was certainly at his most effective on the mat. In the present day that’s still largely the case as he continues to have respectable wrestling and assured grappling, as proven last time out with his swift submission of Anthony Njokuani (the 9th of his career). Meanwhile, his striking has improved over the years, but it’s still fairly workmanlike with decent boxing fundamentals and good durability.

Magny continues to be a work-horse in the division at 38-years-old, but there have been signs of his age catching up to him for a while, and in particular last year when he suffered back-to-back TKO and KO losses in the first round. He’s still an experienced veteran who can cause problems for opponents at a certain level though with his tall, rangey frame and jack-of-all-trades skill-set. The size advantage will be notable here as he’s 4″ taller than Matthews with an extra 7″ in reach. He uses that to keep opponents at bay on the outside with straight punches and distance-managing kicks, though he does lack the power necessary to deter aggressive opponent, and his durability is now a concern. Some of Magny’s best work comes from controlling opponents in the clinch and mixing in occasional takedowns to grind his way to victory, but he has to be wary on the mat though as he has been finished six times via submission over the years.

Magny does a good job of taking advantage of his opponents where they are weakest, but in this match-up Matthews is equipped to compete wherever the fight goes. Matthews is also younger, more durable and I think his grappling threat could cause the veteran problems, leading him a second round submission victory.

Jake Matthews to win by submission in Rd2

Bet Now

—

Tom Nolan vs. Charlie Campbell Prediction

Tom Nolan comes into this event on a three-fight winning streak, while his short-notice opponent, Charlie Campbell is 2-0 in the promotion.

Known as ‘Big Train’, the 25-year-old Nolan is a lanky lightweight at 6ft 3″ tall, but given that Campbell is also taller than normal for the weight-class that’ll only give him an extra 3″ in height and 1″ in reach over him. Nolan uses his size well though as he’s an active, technical kickboxer from range who mixes up his strikes well and has also found success stopping opponents with knees. He has five finishes via strikes on his 9-1 record, including a 1st round TKO finish in his debut, but as proven in his last two Octagon outings he can also get the job done on the scorecards.

Like Nolan, the 30-year-old Campbell is also a Contender Series recruit who holds a similar record of 9-2 so far, and has prior experience in the Bellator promotion too. Campbell is a good sized, aggressive striker who is less technical than Nolan, but has notable stopping power with 6 finishes on his record so far, and dishes out damaging leg kicks too.

Campbell is used to being the bigger man, and so that could throw him off here, particularly since Nolan does a good job of keeping his opponents at bay with his striking from the outside. As such I’ll take Nolan to steer clear of Campbell’s power strikes and emerge with a decision victory.

Tom Nolan to win by decision

Bet Now

Justin Tafa vs. Louie Sutherland Prediction

Justin Tafa comes in off back-to-back defeats to take on the debuting Louie Sutherland, who holds a 10-3 career record.

The 31-year-old Tafa is a heavy-handed boxer with a bit of a pudgy build, but that can be a bit deceptive as he does have better hand-speed than you’d expect and is capable of landing counter-strikes and whipping up the occasional head kick. He has finished all seven of his career wins via strikes, but though he’s consistently been fighting the also-rans of the division during his UFC run, he’s only gone 4-5 (+1nc) overall in the promotion. That’s not helped by his chin being his first line of defense, and he was TKO’d in just 35 second by Tallison Teixeira last time out, while there’s also very little going on with his ground game.

Sutherland is also 31-years-old and arrives in the UFC having previously had brief spells with Bellator and on PFL’s challenger series in the past, but didn’t fare particularly well. He’s now coming in off a four-fight winning run in the Dutch LFL promotion though, and like Tafa he has a good finishing record overall, with 8 of his 10 wins coming via strikes. He’s not a refined striker but he has good physicality and power and is also comfortable in the clinch, and while he’s not a good wrestler he is at least willing to try for takedowns to set-up his solid ground-and-pound.

All three of Sutherland’s losses were on the scorecards, but if he loses here it’s likely to be via strikes inside the distance. However, he’s more willing to mix things up with clinch-work and takedowns, and I think that will pay off for him as he takes advantage of Tafa’s poor ground-game to deliver a 2nd round ground-and-pound finish.

Louie Sutherland to win by TKO In Rd2

Bet Now

UFC Fight Night 260 Prelims

—

(Predicted winners in bold)

Navajo Stirling vs. Rodolfo Bellato
Loma Lookboonmee vs. Alexia Thainara
Jonathan Micallef vs. Oban Elliott
Cameron Rowston vs. Andre Petroski
Colby Thicknesse vs. Josias Musasa
Jamie Mullarkey vs. Rolando Bedoya
Michelle Montague vs. Luana Carolina
Brando Peričić vs. Elisha Ellison

MMA Writer

Ross Cole

Ross Cole is one of the most prolific mixed martial arts writers in the world.

Having written more than 22,000 MMA news stories for MMA Insight, which he founded in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Few people know the UFC and the sport of MMA like Ross, and he has built a solid reputation for being one of the best MMA tipsters in the world.

You can read more of Ross's work at MMAInsight.com.