Only one athlete made his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut in the Middle East yesterday (Sat., Oct. 25, 2025) at UFC 321 inside Etihad Arena on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
English Heavyweight, Louie Sutherland, was originally set to make his long-awaited debut last month at UFC Perth, but just one day before weigh-ins, the fight fell apart when Justin Tafa pulled out because of weight issues — which sucked, because Sutherland likely would have won that slobber knocker.
Instead, the 31-year-old was rebooked against surging Brazilian prospect, Valter Walker, at UFC 321, and his debut turned into a nightmare. Sutherland landed a nasty leg kick and even cracked Walker with a solid hook, but within seconds, he was taken down and quickly became the FOURTH STRAIGHT VICTIM to be heel hooked by the rising contender — an epic submission streak that’s now a UFC record (watch highlights).
There’s not much to dissect from Sutherland’s performance — it was short, painful and disastrous.
For his next outing, Sutherland should get a bounce-back fight against fellow newcomer, Brando Pericic, on the rumored UFC Sydney card early next year.
