April 28, 2024 9: 30 am ET
LAS VEGAS – It might have looked foreign to some fans, and Alex Perez doesn’t take offense to that.
Perez (25-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) not just contended in a battle Saturday at UFC on ESPN 55, he won. That’s something battle fans wear’t see every day and Perez acknowledges that. He’s heard the jests, insults, and problems.
Just like numerous commenters and critics desired him to do, Perez was excited to battle. Due to injuries and other situations, that didn’t takeplace. But Saturday, it did. Perez knocked out fellow competitor Matheus Nicolau with a tidy ideal hook in Round 1.
The win might haveactually represented a point-proving minute to outside observers, however not Perez, who neverever lost faith in his capabilities regardlessof his lackofexercise.
“I suggest, truthfully, I sanctuary’t altered,” Perez informed MMA Junkie and other pressreporters at a post-fight news conference. “A lot of it is simply psychological things. Don’t get me incorrect. When the battles began canceling and things like that, I feel like, ‘Damn, dawg. What’s going on?’ I kind of felt unfortunate and things like that. But at the end of the day, I can inform individuals simply because something is going bad in your life, doesn’t mean life stops. I have a boy. I have expenses to pay and things like that. I’ve got to keep grinding. My youngboy Billy Bigelow be like, ‘Stuff those sensations away, deep down inside till it’s time to come out. I simply kind of kept moving forward and listened to my group. I owe a lot to my supervisor, Jason House, Jeremy Luchau, Lance (Spaude), and coach Collin Oya