Alex Perez will get a new opponent, but one month later.
Askar Askarov has been forced out of UFC on ESPN 27 on July 31 and Perez (24-6 MMA, 6-2 UFC) now will face Matt Schnell (15-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) at the Aug. 28 Fight Night event, which is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Thursday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN Deportes first reported the matchup. The news of Askarov’s withdrawal first was reported by MMA DNA.
Winner of three of his past four, Perez hasn’t competed since this past November, when he was submitted by then-flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in a title fight at UFC 255. He was scheduled to return against Schnell at UFC 262 in May, but was forced out due to injury. The pair nonw has been rebooked three months later.
When Perez withdrew, Schnell faced Rogerio Bontorin instead, but lost the fight by unanimous decision. He expressed interest in having the Perez fight rebooked if he beat Bontorin, and now will get his wish regardless. Prior to that, the “Ultimate Fighter” alum had won five of his past six, with his most recent octagon win coming over Tyson Nam at UFC on ESPN 20 in January.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Aug. 28 now includes:
- Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Makhmud Muradov
- Sara McMann vs. Ketlen Vieira
- Joselyne Edwards vs. Zarah Fairn
- Kevin Croom vs. Marcelo Rojo
- Mario Bautista vs. Guido Cannetti
- Jamall Emmers vs. Pat Sabatini
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Darren Stewart
- J.J. Aldrich vs. Tracy Cortez
- Sean Brady vs. Kevin Lee
- Mario Bautista vs. Guido Cannetti
- Alessio Di Chirico vs. Aliaskhab Khizriev
- Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
