‘I’m absolutely gutted’ — Opponent claims disastrous weight cut hospitalized heavyweight Justin Tafa, leading to fight cancelation | UFC Perth

Justin Tafa suffered a grueling weight cut for this weekend’s UFC Perth card, ultimately resulting in a trip to the hospital and a canceled fight.

This is according to his opponent, Louie Sutherland, who

was expected to make his Octagon debut on enemy soil this weekend in Australia. However, his UFC debut was put on ice after learning about Tafa’s shocking withdrawal during Friday’s early weigh ins (results HERE).

At that time, fight fans only knew that Tafa was forced out of the fight due to an illness. They didn’t know it was related to an egregious weight cut. Remember, Tafa is a heavyweight fighter. He only needed to cut down to 266 pounds to hit the required benchmark for his fight with Sutherland. It appears there was a massive issue with weight management for Tafa during this fight camp and things went completely wrong down the stretch.

Sutherland, who was “absolutely gutted” to see his first UFC fight go up in flames with just 24 hours to go, took to Instagram in the fallout of the cancelation to reveal that Tafa had struggled with his weight cut. According to Sutherland, the weight cut was so bad that Tafa had to go to the hospital.

Check it out below and let us know your final thoughts!

“Unfortunately my fight is off. I’ve been told my opponent couldn’t make the weight and had to be taken to hospital with about 7-8lbs left to cut but I am still unsure of the specific details. I’m absolutely gutted & was so ready to put on a show. The fight game is full of ups & downs but onto the next one, hopefully not to long to wait.”

LIVE! Stream UFC Perth On ESPN+

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT HOSTILITIES! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Sat., Sept. 27, 2025, for UFC Perth, with a stacked ESPN+ fight card. In the main event, rising Light Heavyweight contender, Carlos Ulberg, faces resurgent former 205-pound title challenger, Dominick Reyes, in a high-stakes clash scheduled for five, five-minute rounds. In UFC Perth’s co-headliner, Australian favorite, Jimmy Crute, takes on Croatian powerhouse, Ivan Erslan, both of whom are vying for a pivotal win in the 205-pound division. All that and SO MUCH MORE!

Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!

Where to Buy:

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Perth fight card on fight night, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matchups scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Perth news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Ulberg vs. Reyes” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.