UFC Vegas 91: UFC Apex; Las Vegas Nevada
Next week when the UFC men’s flyweight title is on the line there will be a very interesting pair of eyes probably sitting cageside. They belong to the moving up the rankings Alex Perez. The former title challenger who is climbing back up the rankings is now more laser focused. He’s listening more to his coaches, and in the gym not only training doubley hard, but helping coach others as well. As he himself put it:
“Everybody’s counted me out”.
His second-round crumbling of Matheus Nicolau came at the 2:16 mark after yet another flurry. It ended with a nasty right hook along the fence line. The finish was his 13th in his career, breaking his longest losing streak of three, dating back to 2020. Granted it was against the best of the division however.
His footwork was on point from the get go, and his striking was mixed perfectly. Softening the body of the Brazilian up, before starting to head hunt. Perez’s fast pace had Nicolau on his back foot. Although before the finish he was being efficient with his attack.
Climbing Back Up The Division With One Goal
Perez didn’t call for the next title shot. Nor did he say “let me be backup next week”. However, with zero damage suffered, that might be the case. Nicolau is a sharp-shooter, and Perez had the perfect gameplan. But will that style have the same results against the best of the best?
That’s a tough call. But there is a way to sort of figure it out. Amir Albazi might just be next up for the strap winner. He’s a danger on the ground, and moreso on the feet. Taking Perez down to the mat is as rare as hens teeth. And Albazi has one-punch power with a solid chin of his own. Perez relies more on the movement that he used tonight, and punches in bunches. With every fight starting on the feet, if Perez is off just slightly on a forward rush, it’ll be lights out.
Should that scrap get to the mat it’ll be more interesting. Perez has specifically worked on submissions and his own takedowns. Albazi uses just about every type of submission known to man in his game. And he can lock them in from any angle. You might even call him the 125-version of Charles Oliveira. Don’t look now but, 125; the division that got little respect is starting to heat up again.
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