Louie Sutherland: the full picture

Sean Sharaf, but the UFC has announced that Tuivasa will still get to fight and has now been matched up with Louie Sutherland. Louie Sutherland has emerged this Saturday as one of the stories drawing attention in New Zealand.

Key facts

• Sean Sharaf, but the UFC has announced that Tuivasa will still get to fight and has now been matched up with Louie Sutherland.
• Sharaf was set to bring an 0-2 UFC record into the matchup with Tuivasa before withdrawing due to injury, and Sutherland will also be looking for his first Octagon win at UFC Perth after being stopped in the first round of his previous two UFC bouts.
• Sutherland means there are now 12 scheduled bouts just over a week out from the event.
• Tuivasa, who has lost six straight fights, takes on Louie Sutherland this Saturday at UFC Perth.
• “Vanilla Gorilla” has secured all but two of his 10 professional wins via knockout, and he claimed the Levels Fight League heavyweight belt in the summer of 2025 before joining the UFC later that year.

What we know

Going deeper, Sharaf was set to bring an 0-2 UFC record into the matchup with Tuivasa before withdrawing due to injury, and Sutherland will also be looking for his first Octagon win at UFC Perth after being stopped in the first round of his previous two UFC bouts.

On the substance, Sutherland means there are now 12 scheduled bouts just over a week out from the event.

Beyond the headlines, Tuivasa, who has lost six straight fights, takes on Louie Sutherland this Saturday at UFC Perth.

More precisely, Next weekend’s UFC Fight Night card has officially added a new matchup just over a week before the event takes place in Perth, Australia.

It is worth noting that a longtime fan favorite, Tuivasa joined the UFC with an undefeated record in 2018 and knocked out back-to-back opponents in the first round before taking a decision over Andrei Arlovski at UFC 225.

By the numbers

“Vanilla Gorilla” has secured all but two of his 10 professional wins via knockout, and he claimed the Levels Fight League heavyweight belt in the summer of 2025 before joining the UFC later that year.

On a related note, the Gane loss unfortunately kicked off a difficult stretch for Tuivasa, as he’s now lost six-straight fights and most recently dropped a unanimous decision to Tallison Teixeira on the main card for UFC 325.

Going deeper, the 32-year-old was the most recent victim of Valter Walker’s ongoing heel hook streak at UFC 321, and he was also stopped by fellow UFC Perth fighter Brando Peričić in his last bout in March.

On the substance, UFC Perth was down to only 11 fights with the loss of Jenkins vs.

The wider context

On a related note, He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

Going deeper, Fan favorite Tai Tuivasa can make a UFC heavyweight title run, says his coach at Scrappy MMA, Ben Vickers.

On the substance, Speaking to Southern Cross Combat, coach Vickers praised Tuivasa, saying the rotund heavyweight is highly motivated to go out there and beat Sutherland.

Beyond the headlines, With so much on the line, look for Tuivasa to come out swinging against Sutherland and do everything in his power to get the win.

More precisely, Tuivasa joined the UFC in 2018, and he has been a staple of the heavyweight division ever since.

The bottom line

• A longtime fan favorite, Tuivasa joined the UFC with an undefeated record in 2018 and knocked out back-to-back opponents in the first round before taking a decision over Andrei Arlovski at UFC 225.
• The Gane loss unfortunately kicked off a difficult stretch for Tuivasa, as he’s now lost six-straight fights and most recently dropped a unanimous decision to Tallison Teixeira on the main card for UFC 325.
• The 32-year-old was the most recent victim of Valter Walker’s ongoing heel hook streak at UFC 321, and he was also stopped by fellow UFC Perth fighter Brando Peričić in his last bout in March.