UFC Perth: Brando Pericic, Cameron Rowston claim wins; Ollie Schmid loses on debut

Auckland-trained duo Cameron Rowston and Brando Pericic were victorious in their UFC Perth bouts. Photos / Getty Images

Three fights into their UFC careers, Cameron Rowston and Brando Pericic remain perfect inside the octagon.

The Auckland-trained mixed martial artists continue to rise through their respective divisions, announcing themselves as fighters to watch with wins in Perth on Saturday night.

Middleweight Rowston claimed a dominant unanimous decision win over Poland’s Robert Bryczek, with a strong display across all areas of the sport.

The Australian was doing some good work with step-in elbows and threatening with knees up the middle, while using his range advantage well with his jab.

Bryczek was targeting Rowston’s body with strikes, but the fighter from Auckland’s City Kickboxing did a good job of limiting any damage and returning out beyond Bryczek’s range.

But it was on the mat where Rowston really dictated the fight. He was able to take Bryczek down in all three rounds and looked to capitalise on positions with elbows and punches.

Bryczek defended well for the most part, but Rowston showed his ability on the ground to maintain control.

Ultimately, it was a lopsided win for Rowston, who has emerged as one of the more interesting prospects in the middleweight division.

For good measure, he called out a familiar City Kickboxing foe for his next opponent in his post-fight interview in the octagon.

“Marvin Vettori, you call yourself the Italian Dream but everyone in here knows your career has been nothing but a nightmare.”

Not to be outdone, fellow Australian Pericic will find himself in the top 15 in the heavyweight division after a second-round knockout win over Shamil Gaziev.

Pericic had to work hard for the win, with Gaziev eating a lot of heavy shots and continuing the answer in kind, while the Australian also had to fend off Gaziev as he tried to wrestle.

It took until halfway through the second round, but Pericic finally got Gaziev to fall for his third straight win inside the distance since joining the UFC.

Pericic has announced himself as one of the most exciting fighters in the heavyweight division and will have won himself plenty of fans for such a performance on a card that was lacking in highlight-reel moments until that point.

Unfortunately, there was no fairytale debut for Kiwi-Hungarian featherweight Ollie Schmid, who fell to a first-round TKO loss against unbeaten prospect Marwan Rahiki after stepping in on four days’ notice.

Schmid certainly didn’t look overawed by the occasion and was composed in the octagon, with plenty of feints as he looked for his shots, landing a couple, but he was largely kept on the defensive as Rahiki pressed forward.

The speed of the Australian-based Moroccan fighter was the difference, as he finished a combination with a slick uppercut that cut Schmid flush and sent him to the canvas.

He quickly covered up, and after a couple of blocked follow-ups from Rahiki, the referee rightly stepped in.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.