Alex Perez (fighter)

Alex Perez (born March 21, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of June 18, 2024, he is #7 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

Background
Perez is of Mexican descent and has eight siblings. He started wrestling in the sixth grade alongside his two brothers Silverio Esparza and Julian Perez. Perez represent West Hills College Lemoore in junior college wrestling and he was the regional champion and All-American wrestler in his sophomore year in college. After Perez completed high school at Lemoore, he began helping friends train for their MMA fights due to his wrestling experience.

Early career
Perez fought all of his fights in United States where he made his professional debut on May 6, 2011, at TPF 9. He faced Jesus Castro and knockout Castro in round one. He amassed a total of 16-4 before joining Dana White's Contender Series 5, facing Kevin Gray. He defeated Gray, and with the win, he was signed by UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Perez made his promotional debut on December 9, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega against Carlos John de Tomas. He won the fight via submission in round two.

On February 24, 2018, Perez faced Eric Shelton at UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens. At the weigh-ins, Perez weighed in at 126.5 pounds, a half pound over the flyweight non-title fight upper limit of 126 pounds. As a result, the bout proceeded at catchweight and Perez was fined 20% of his purse which went to Shelton. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Perez faced Jose Torres on August 9, 2018, at UFC 227. He won the fight via knockout in round one.

Perez faced Joseph Benavidez on November 30, 2018, at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale. He lost the fight via technical knockout out in round one.

Perez faced Mark De La Rosa in a bantamweight bout on March 30, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 2. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Perez was scheduled to face Sergio Pettis on September 21, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 159. However, Perez pulled out of the bout on August 26 citing an injury.

Perez faced Jordan Espinosa on January 25, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 166. He won the fight via an arm-triangle choke in round one. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. Perez's arm triangle was an on the fly adjustment and the first time he had submitted someone from that position.

Perez was expected to face Kai Kara-France on May 16, 2020. However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that the event would be postponed to a future date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead Perez faced Jussier Formiga on June 6, 2020, at UFC 250. He won the fight via first-round technical knockout. This win earned him the Performance of the Night.

Perez was expected to face Brandon Moreno on November 21, 2020, at UFC 255. However, on October 2, it was announced that Perez would face Deiveson Figueiredo, replacing an injured Cody Garbrandt for the UFC Flyweight Championship at the same event. He lost the fight via guillotine choke submission in round one.

Perez was scheduled to meet Matt Schnell on May 15, 2021, at UFC 262. However, for undisclosed reasons Perez was forced to pull out from the event and was replaced by Rogério Bontorin.

Perez was scheduled to face Askar Askarov on July 31, 2021, on UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland. However, Askarov pulled out of the fight in early July citing injury. In turn, Perez was removed from the card entirely and rescheduled to face Matt Schnell four weeks later on August 28, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze. However, for undisclosed reasons, the bout was moved to UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till. However, the bout was yet again moved for unknown reasons to UFC 269. At the weigh-ins, Alex Perez weighed in at 126.25 pounds, a quarter-pound over the flyweight non-title fight limit. Shortly after the weigh-ins, officials had announced that the bout had been canceled due to Schnell withdrawing from the event because of a medical issue. The pair was rescheduled to UFC 271 on February 12, 2022. At weigh-ins, Perez came in at 128 pounds and did not attempt to try again, resulting in Matt Schnell refusing to accept the catchweight bout and the fight being canceled.

Perez faced Alexandre Pantoja on July 30, 2022, at UFC 277. He lost the fight via a neck crank submission early in the first round.

Perez was scheduled to face Amir Albazi on December 17, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 216. However, he pulled out due to undisclosed reasons in late October and was replaced by Brandon Royval.

Perez was scheduled to face Kai Kara-France on February 12, 2023, at UFC 284. However, Kara-France withdrew from the fight, citing a knee injury and the bout was canceled.

Perez was scheduled to face Manel Kape on March 25, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 43. However, the pairing was cancelled during the broadcast as Perez suffered an undisclosed medical issue.

Perez faced Muhammad Mokaev on March 2, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 238. After being taken down a number of times, Perez lost the bout by unanimous decision.

Perez faced Matheus Nicolau, as a replacement for Manel Kape, on April 27, 2024 at UFC on ESPN 55. Perez won the fight by knockout in the second round. This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.

Perez was scheduled to face Tagir Ulanbekov on June 15, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 58. However, the bout was changed and Perez ended up headlining the main event against Tatsuro Taira. Perez lost the fight by technical knockout as a result of a knee injury in the second round.

Professional grappling career
Perez was booked to compete against two-time NCAA champion wrestler Roman Bravo-Young in a Brazilian jiu-jitsu match at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4 on June 29, 2023. The match ended in a draw.

Personal life
Alex and his wife have a son (born 2021).

Mixed martial arts

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Performance of the Night (Three times) vs. Jordan Espinosa, Jussier Formiga and Matheus Nicolau
 * Tachi Palace
 * Tachi Palace Flyweight Champion (one time; former)