Tai Tuivasa meets Louie Sutherland at UFC Perth after Sharaf injury
Tai Tuivasa will fight Louie Sutherland at UFC Perth on May 2 after originally scheduled opponent Sean Sharaf fractured his nose in training this week.
The matchmakers kept Tuivasa (14-9) on the card at RAC Arena, pairing him with England’s Sutherland (10-5), who like Sharaf is 0-2 in the UFC. As MMA Fighting first reported, Sutherland stepped in on short notice to face the Australian heavyweight, who has not won since 2022 and carries a six-fight losing streak into his hometown appearance. Those losses include stoppages against Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich, and Ciryl Gane.
Sutherland’s rough UFC start mirrors original opponent
Sutherland debuted last October and has dropped both UFC outings by first-round finish, submitted by Valter Walker via heel hook and stopped by Brando Pericic. According to MMA Mania, Sutherland was initially booked against Justin Tafa before that fight fell apart and he was moved to Walker. Tuivasa nearly pulled an upset in his last outing at UFC 325 in January, surviving early trouble against Tallison Teixeira, whose nine career wins had come by first-round knockout in eight cases. Per MMA Mania’s Ryan Harkness, gas tank and fight IQ remain concerns for Tuivasa despite the gutsy performance.
UFC Perth is headlined by a welterweight clash between Jack Della Maddalena and Carlos Prates. Pericic meets Shamil Gaziev on the same card.
Photo: MMAnytt / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Original reporting:
- mmafighting.com — Tai Tuivasa books new opponent for UFC Perth | MMA Fighting
- mmamania.com — Tai Tuivasa gets late replacement opponent for UFC Perth | MMA Mania