Alexander Salvador Perez (born March 21, 1992) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who currently competes in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). As of December 17, 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.

Mixed martial arts career

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 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The large ...

. 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 Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

, the president of UFC announced that the event would be postponed to a future date due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Instead Perez faced Jussier Formiga on June 6, 2020, at

UFC 250 ''UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 6, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. I ...

. 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 Cody Ray Allen Garbrandt (born July 7, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Bantamweight Champion. Backg ...

for the

UFC Flyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

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 ''UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 15, 2021 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Lightweight Championship ...

. However, for undisclosed reasons Perez was forced to pull out from the event and was replaced by

Rogério Bontorin Rogério Bontorin (born 25 April 1992) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional since 2013, he most notably fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He wa ...

. 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 ''UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 11, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...

. 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 ''UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 12, 2022 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Middleweight Champio ...

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 ''UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Women's Bantamweight Cha ...

. 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 Brandon Matthew Royval (born August 16, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Royval has also formerly compet ...

. 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 ''UFC on ESPN: Nicolau vs. Perez'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 55'' and ''UFC Vegas 91'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 27, 2024, at the UFC Apex facility, in Enterprise, N ...

. 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. Perez is scheduled to face former

challenger Steve Erceg on August 9, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 72.

Professional grappling career

Perez was booked to compete against two-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

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).

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (Three times) * Tachi Palace ** Tachi Palace Flyweight Champion (one time; former)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 25–9 , Tatsuro Taira , TKO (knee injury) , UFC on ESPN: Perez vs. Taira , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:59 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–4 , Jose Torres , KO (punches) , UFC 227 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:34 ,

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Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–4 , Kevin Gray , Technical Submission (anaconda choke) , Dana White's Contender Series 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:54 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–4 , Tyler Bialecki , Decision (unanimous) , CFFC 64 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4 , Andrew Natividad , Submission (anaconda choke) , TPF 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 , Ray Elizalde , Decision (split) , RFA 42 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 , Jared Papazian , Submission (armbar) , TPF 27 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:26 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 , Adam Antolin , Submission (guillotine choke) , TPF 25 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Martin Sandoval , Decision (unanimous) , TPF 24 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Anthony Figueroa , Decision (unanimous) , TPF 22 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Del Hawkins , TKO (punches) , TPF 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:23 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Eloy Garza , Decision (unanimous) , TPF 18 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Jeff Carson , Submission (standing guillotine) , TPF 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:23 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Peter Baltimore , Decision (unanimous) , MEZ Sports: Pandemonium 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Carlos DeSoto , TKO (punches) , TPF 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:52 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Javier Galas , Submission (rear-naked choke) , TPF 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:37 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Edgar Diaz , Submission (kimura) , TPF 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:33 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–2 , John MaCalolooy , Decision (unanimous) , WFC: Bruvado Bash , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 , Edgar Diaz , Submission (guillotine choke) , TPF 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:43 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Ruben Trujillo , Decision (unanimous) , UPC Unlimited: Up & Comers 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jesus Castro , TKO (punches) , TPF 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:56 ,

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Pay-per-view bouts

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Alex Living people 1992 births American male mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century American sportsmen