Sutherland takes UFC Perth fight on week's notice

Louie Sutherland slaps his chest as he weighs in

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Louie Sutherland only fought a month ago at UFC London

ByCoral BarryCombat Sports Senior Journalist

Published9 minutes ago

British UFC fighter Louie Sutherland has agreed to be a short-notice replacement opponent for Tai Tuivasa in Perth on 2 May.

On barely one week's notice, Sutherland will travel from the UK to Australia, having fought last month at UFC London.

The 32-year-old suffered the first knockout loss of his career and is in need of a win to get his career back on track after successive defeats.

Australian heavyweight Tuivasa's homecoming fight was in jeopardy after Sean Sharaf withdrew from their contest earlier this week with a broken nose.

Tuivasa has a main card slot in Perth but is in the midst of a dire run with six straight losses in the UFC.

Th 33-year-old has an overall record of 14 wins and nine defeats while Sutherland has five losses in 15 fights.

Both men are knockout artists, with eight of Sutherland's wins coming via knockout and 13 of Tuivasa's 14.

Late-notice replacements do not often work out for fighters, but there have been some big wins for British underdogs recently with Lone'er Kavanagh stepping in on three weeks' notice to fight Brandon Moreno in Mexico in February.

Kavanagh, 26, beat Moreno on points to secure the biggest win of his career so far and fire himself to number six in the flyweight rankings.

UFC Perth is headlined by former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena's fight against Brazilian Carlos Prates, the Australian's first bout since losing the UFC belt.