Dana White consistently strives to keep both his promotion and himself out of controversy, yet trouble follows him wherever the UFC goes—a reality he knows all too well. This pattern was evident again at UFC Perth last night, headlined by the light heavyweight clash between Carlos Ulberg and Dominick Reyes. From the start, the event faced hurdles, beginning with three fight cancellations the week prior, and followed by three more in the days leading up to the Fight Night. To make it all worse, the ticket sales were at a record low.

Promoters and distributors responded by cutting ticket prices, a move that brought 12,543 fans to the RAC Arena. The event went as scheduled with 12 fights. Surprisingly, though, the welterweight bout between Neil Magny and local favorite Jake Matthews on the undercard, where Magny secured a third-round submission victory, was marred by controversy; in particular, a moment involving Matthews toward the end of the very first round. This has now ended up in front of the local commission that has been asked to review the bout.

Jake Matthews challenges UFC Perth defeat with state commission appeal

Heading into the fight, Jake Matthews entered as the fan favorite against his opponent, veteran Neil Magny. Towards the end of the first round, the Aussie appeared to seize the advantage, locking Magny in a guillotine choke that, from a distance, made the referee believe that Magny had been choked unconscious. As a result, the referee stepped in and separated the fighters before realizing that the American was fine and responsive. Magny immediately protested, insisting he was still in the fight. The round soon ended. This controversial intervention arguably influenced the bout’s outcome.

As the fight progressed into the final round, Magny turned the tables, taking control and securing a submission in the final round. With this victory, Magny notched his 31st career win and his 24th in the UFC, making him second only to Jim Miller with 27 wins in the UFC. Nevertheless, Matthews is now challenging the contentious first-round call. On Instagram, he confirmed that he has filed an appeal with the commission, writing: “The fight stoppage is currently under review by the state combat commission. It’s not easy to switch back on after a referee’s call, but we’ll leave it in their hands and see where it goes. At the end of the day, rules are rules.”

Meanwhile, BJ Penn.com reporter Cole Shelton on X has now confirmed the appeal status after speaking directly with Jake Matthews’ team.. Consequently, the referee and judging error has sparked outrage, drawing criticism from ‘The Celtic Kid’ and igniting social media, where fans labeled it an “insane turn” of events at UFC Perth.

Now, the commission holds the authority to review Matthews’ appeal. Historically, it has intervened to correct referee or judging mistakes. For instance, at UFC Atlanta on June 14, Malik and Brundage clashed heads in the third round. Although Malik finished the fight, officials later called a foul, preventing Brundage from continuing. Subsequently, the bout went to the judges’ scorecards, and after Cody Brundage filed an appeal, the commission made a decision in his favor.

UFC brass speaks out after cutting ticket prices at UFC Fight Night 260

Despite holding the crown as the premier promotion in the MMA world, with other organizations struggling to compete, the UFC has not been immune to criticism. Observers have accused the organization of prioritizing quantity over quality and producing cards that lack compelling matchups. One notable complaint emerged last summer, when fans clamored for an Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria showdown.

Rather than booking the fight, Dana White and UFC matchmakers moved Makhachev to the lightweight division, keeping both fighters on separate paths. Last night at UFC Perth, a similar pattern appeared. The card lacked marquee, attention-grabbing bouts, prompting the promotion to lower ticket prices. The strategy drew over 12,000 fans—fewer than the 14,000-plus crowd in Perth last year—but still generated a live gate of $1.8 million.

UFC Executive Vice President Dave Shaw, however, dismissed any notion that the price adjustments constituted a “slashing.” Speaking to the media during the post-fight press conference, Shaw highlighted the promotion’s dynamic pricing approach, stating, “UFC wanted to make sure that the tickets were sold out and get as many people as they could into the venue. What we do is we employ dynamic pricing in a variety of different scenarios. And in this case, it made sense for us to do so for mostly the upper-level tickets to make sure that people got into the building.”

What’s your take on the UFC’s current landscape? With many big-name stars now retired or less active, do you see this as a potential challenge for the promotion’s future, or do you believe the new generation of fighters will rise to fill the void left by these legends? Share your thoughts below.