Alex Perez had no trouble taking Mark De La Rosa to the mat over three rounds, and he scored points every time he took top position.
De La Rosa (11-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) made the trip south easy by going to his back, a strategy that gave Perez (22-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC) an easy unanimous decision. Perez won with a trio of 30-27 scores from the judges.
The bantamweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s UFC on ESPN 2 event at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. It streamed on ESPN+ ahead of the rest of the card on ESPN.
Perez swung heavy leather early as he pressured De La Rosa against the fence. Several stiff counters prompted him to look for better luck on the canvas. From top position, he pounded De La Rosa with hammerfists and elbows after pulling out of a kimura. By the end of the opening frame, De La Rosa’s face was red from the punishment.
It wasn’t long before Perez put De La Rosa in the second frame, and De La Rosa made his job easier by moving to his back, where he was free to punch from the top. De La Rosa’s efforts to control the wrists were mostly unsuccessful, and his punches from the bottom didn’t keep Perez off him.
With one round left to work, De La Rosa tried to catch Perez with heavy counters off leg kicks. But he waited for striking opportunities that were frequently taken away by Perez, and a takedown entry was easily intercepted. Eventually, Perez went back to his winning strategy and ducked under for a body lock, and De La Rosa again went to his back. The final minute saw Perez cruise from top control.
Perez gets back to the win column after his first octagon loss to Joseph Benavidez this past November, while De La Rosa sees a two fight streak snapped.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 2 results include:
- Alex Perez def. Mark De La Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN 2, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
