Alejandro Perez has quietly racked up one of the more impressive records in the stacked bantamweight division.
He’ll look to rebound from his first loss in four years when he takes on Song Yadong at UFC 239 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In his most recent outing, Perez (21-7-1 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC) saw his four-fight winning streak snapped when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Cody Stamann. He said he thought he needed to pressure his opponent more, since he expects Yadong to want to keep things on the feet.
However, he is ready wherever the fight goes.
“If I win by KO, TKO, submission or decision, I’m happy with that – but I’m still training and covering all the areas to ensure my best performance,” Perez told MMA Junkie.
Currently No. 14 in the UFC’s bantamweight rankings, Perez hopes to crack into the top 10 with a win Saturday, and his goals don’t stop there. He wants to become world champion.
“If I win this next fight, I will have eight wins in the UFC – and that should put me at No. 8 in the bantamweight division,” Perez said. “My goal is still obtain the title.”
Ever since winning “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America,” Perez has been training at American Kickboxing Academy with his “TUF” coach, Cain Velasquez. He has found a comfortable environment training under the tutelage of head coach Javier Mendez and is not short of high-caliber training partners in preparation for Yadong.
It does appear though, that wrestling has been one of Perez’s main focuses.
“We have many bantamweight fighters in the gym, and in preparation for this fight,” Perez said. “Shawn Bunch, David Zasokhov, Aron Gandara for wrestling prep, and Nohelin Hernandez. We all support each other constantly. Right now during fight week, another friend from wrestling prep, Carson Manville, is helping me a lot. He’s so good and I’m very grateful for his support. He’s a member of the (U.S.) national wrestling team.”
With the UFC’s return to Mexico City coming up in September, Perez admitted he thinks about that card and wanting to fight at home. However, he is focused at the task at hand since he knows how important it is to get back to his winning ways in the bantamweight division.
“I’ve thought about that idea, but I try to stay focused on this fight on (Saturday),” Perez said. “And of course, if everything goes well, I would love to fight at UFC Mexico.”
UFC 239 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
For more on UFC 239, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
