It’s safe to say Alex Perez is making up for lost time.
Just days after knocking out Matheus Nicolau on short notice in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 55 headliner, Perez’s originally scheduled bout vs. Tagir Ulanbekov at UFC Fight Night on June 15 has been rebooked. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the booking confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie following an initial report from Eurosport NL.
After just one fight in almost four years, Perez (25-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) will step into the octagon for the third time in 2024. The former title challenger lost a unanimous decision to unbeaten Muhammad Mokaev in March but made a less than two-month turnaround to replace Manel Kape against Nicolau this past Saturday. With the win over Nicolau, Perez snapped a three-fight losing skid.
Russia’s Ulanbekov (15-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is coming off back-to-back submissions over Nate Maness, and most recently Cody Durden at UFC 296 in December.
With the addition, the June 15 lineup includes:
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Martin Buday
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. Andre Muniz
- Jimmy Flick vs. Nate Maness
- Adam Fugitt vs. Josh Quinlan
- Gabriella Fernandes vs. Carli Judice
- Josefine Knutsson vs. Julia Polastri
- Garrett Armfield vs. Brady Hiestand
- Jeka Saragih vs. Westin Wilson
- Asu Almabayev vs. Jose Johnson
- Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Miles Johns
- Alex Perez vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
