Shamil Gaziev was transported to a local hospital after suffering a second-round knockout loss to Brando Pericic on the UFC Perth main card at RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia, on Sat., May 2, 2026.
The heavyweight bout ended with Pericic stopping Gaziev in round two, and both fighters were later awarded $100,000 "Fight of the Night" bonuses. Following the defeat, Gaziev was taken for a precautionary CT scan of his head and face.
The matchup was officially recognized as "Fight of the Night," underscoring the damage-heavy nature of the contest.
With the result, Gaziev falls to 14-3 overall, has now lost two straight by stoppage, and sits at 3-3 in the UFC. Pericic improves to 7-1, remaining perfect in the promotion at 3-0, all by knockout.
Gaziev previously earned his UFC contract on Contender Series in 2023 and is the only fighter to defeat Martin Buday during Buday’s UFC run. He was also fast-tracked into a main event against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, which he lost by corner stoppage. It is common for UFC to transport fighters to the hospital for precautionary reasons after damage-heavy three-round fights.
