PHILADELPHIA – After three straight wins to begin his tenure with the UFC, Alex Perez stumbled for the first time in a long time when he suffered a TKO loss to Joseph Benavidez this past November.
So coming out against Mark De La Rosa (11-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in the first fight of the night at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 2 in Philadelphia, Perez (22-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC) knew he was at a bit of a crossroads, which made his unanimous decision victory that much more satisfying.
“I think just winning in general is important,” Perez told reporters, including MMA Junkie, after the fight. “Coming off my first loss in the UFC, it wasn’t the first time I’ve lost in my career, so it’s nothing new to me. I knew I just had to work. I don’t think my work ethic was ever questioned. I think just one simple, crazy thing – you know, we collided heads. That’s what messed me up last time. This time I was like, cool, I need to work on certain things, and I did – just got back to the old school.”
It helped that Perez got to fight so early on the card, when the arena wasn’t yet full and he could hear his corner’s instructions at key moments. He executed his plan to perfection, cruising to a clearcut decision win.
And now, with UFC wins at both bantamweight and flyweight, Perez might have options, which is nice at a time when the future of the 125 pound division is uncertain.
But that doesn’t mean Perez has entirely made his mind up about where he’ll fight.
“To me, it doesn’t matter,” Perez said. “It’s actually an easier cut (at 135 pounds), but I don’t mind going to (125 pounds). I want to be champion, (125 or 135 pounds) it doesn’t matter. (125 pounds) is a cut, I have to be more disciplined. Not as many buffets. It all depends on what the UFC wants me to do.”
To hear more from Perez, check out the video above.
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN 2, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
