Alex Perez thinks his resume stacks up better than any other flyweight in the UFC.
Perez (24-5 MMA, 6-1 UFC) has finishes in two of his last three wins and wants a crack at newly crowned champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
Perez is coming off a first-round “Performance of the Night” finish over Jussier Formiga at UFC 250, which has put his name in the title mix.
Also in the running is the recently victorious Askar Askarov, who defeated Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN+ 30. Brandon Moreno is vying for his opportunity, as well, having made waves in his second stint in the UFC with two straight wins.
But Perez thinks his body of work has been the most impressive out of the three, making him the clear No.1 contender.
“Honestly I feel like I’m next in line,” Perez told MMA Junkie. “If you look at what I’ve done the last couple of fights – I mean, Moreno’s been in the UFC; he has a draw and two decision wins. I had lost to Joe (Benavidez), came back, I beat Mark (De La Rosa), a decision, and I’ve beat two ranked guys and a guy that he just fought (Formiga) and went to a decision with, which I thought was pretty close. Technically, it doesn’t matter what I think, but I thought the fight was close.
“I went out there and finished him in a round. Askar, he’s beat Tim (Elliott), and then he beat Pantoja. That’s all he has on his resume in the UFC, and he has a draw with Brandon. People say he won that fight, it just all depends, but I see me being the front runner. I finished my last two guys in the first round.”
Figueiredo looked absolutely dominant in his first-round submission win over Joseph Benavidez at UFC on ESPN+ 30, scoring three knockdowns in the round. He looked like a fighter who could rule the division for a long time, but Perez likes how he matches up with the champ.
“I feel like I’m a hard matchup for everybody,” Perez said. “I’m good on the ground, I’m good on the feet, and I got good wrestling. I might not be the best at all of those areas, but I’m pretty damn good at every area. I got the size to match him. My fighting style is to come forward. I don’t think you guys have ever seen me back up in a fight.”
Alex Perez makes case for UFC flyweight title shot: 'I feel like I'm a hard matchup for everybody'
