Staredowns! Carlos Prates and Jack Della Maddalena refuse to break gaze during UFC Perth faceoff

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 30: Jack Della Maddalena and Carlos Prates face off after the UFC Perth Fight Night press conference at RAC Arena on April 30, 2026 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)

Jack Della Maddalena and Carlos Prates are set to headline this weekend’s UFC Perth Fight Night event, and both men clearly understand what a pivotal point in their lives this is.

Following a press conference for the event, the UFC lined up a few of the main card fighters including the main eventers. When Della Maddalena and Prates got together, things got very serious. Della Maddalena started to crack a small smile, but Prates’ hit him with the dead eyes and all of a sudden we had a real staredown going with both men refusing to break their gaze.

It took security stepping in and prying them apart before they’d disengage.

During the press conference, Prates vowed he’d finish the legendarily durable Della Maddalena early on Saturday night and secure the right to compete for a belt.

“That fight’s gonna bring me the title shot,” he said. “It’s gonna bring me close to the UFC belt. So I think it’s the most important fight of my career.”

Della Maddalena made no predictions on anything but a gutsy war.

“[A finish] is gonna be his goal and I’m gonna try and get him out of there,” he said. “But I’m expecting it to go 25 minutes.”

Also hitting the stage for a faceoff: Beneil Dariush and Quillan Salkilld, plus Tim Elliott and Steve Erceg.

UFC Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs. Prates goes down Saturday May 2nd from Perth, Australia. It’s being held at local time, meaning you better be prepared to stay up late or wake up early depending on if you’re East Coast or West Coast. Prelims kick off a 4 a.m. ET / 1 a.m. PT with the main card starting at 7 a.m. ET / 4 a.m. PT.