Jack Della Maddalena and Carlos Prates had their first faceoff Tuesday before UFC Perth.
Della Maddalena and Prates are scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs. Prates on May 2, 2026, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The event marks the UFC’s fifth trip to Perth and its first event there since September 2025.
Watch the UFC faceoff video below:
https://x.com/ufc/status/2049053686509514755
Della Maddalena Returns Home After Losing UFC Gold
Della Maddalena enters the fight with an 18-3 pro MMA record. The Perth native won the UFC welterweight title by defeating Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision at UFC 315 on May 10, 2025, then lost the belt to Islam Makhachev by unanimous decision at UFC 322 on November 15, 2025.
Before the Makhachev loss, Della Maddalena had UFC wins over Gilbert Burns, Kevin Holland, Bassil Hafez, Randy Brown, Danny Roberts, Ramazan Emeev, and Pete Rodriguez. He is listed as a welterweight, fights out of Perth, and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Ben Vickers.
Prates comes in with a 23-7 MMA record. The Brazilian welterweight is a former Muay Thai fighter, fights southpaw, and is listed with 18 knockout wins in MMA. He was ranked No. 5 in the UFC welterweight division as of February 3, 2026.
Prates has won back-to-back fights since his unanimous decision loss to Ian Machado Garry in April 2025. He knocked out Geoff Neal with a spinning back elbow at UFC 319 on August 16, 2025, then stopped Leon Edwards with punches at UFC 322 on November 15, 2025.
The matchup brings Della Maddalena back to Perth after his title loss and gives Prates a five-round main event after consecutive knockouts. It also keeps the winner tied to the top of a welterweight division that has already shifted hard since Makhachev moved up.
Prates has already made it clear that his main target is the belt path, while Della Maddalena previously named Carlos Prates as one of the possible names for his climb back toward another title shot.
