It’s been a tough and unlucky few years for former UFC title challenger Alex Perez, but Saturday night may have turned that around.
For the first time since 2020, Perez (25-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) picked up a victory when he knocked out Matheus Nicolau (19-5-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) with a right hand at 2:16 of Round 2. The flyweight bout was the UFC on ESPN 55 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
ALEX PEREZ WITH A STATEMENT #UFCVEGAS91 pic.twitter.com/sFqLGrSsLN
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 28, 2024
With the victory, Perez wins for the first time since he defeated Jussier Formiga by leg kick TKO in June 2020. While that win was nearly four years ago, Perez had only competed three times since in losses to Deiveson Figueiredo, Alexandre Pantoja, and Muhammad Mokaev.
In defeat, Nicolau falls into a skid for the first time under the UFC banner. He was finished with strikes in his previous outing, a first-round loss to Brandon Royval.
The up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 55 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 55.
