Lemoore's Alex Perez earns performance of the night in UFC Fight Night headliner

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

The Central Valley's Alex Perez stepped up to take on Matheus Nicolau on short notice in the main event of UFC Fight Night from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday April 27th. 2024.

The first round saw Perez and Nicolau measuring distance while feeling out the temperature and pace of the fight. Perez stood busy coming forward and scoring with kicks to the legs, while Nicolau looked to counter in a pretty even opening round. With both fighters a bit more comfortable with timing, the action heated up in the second round. Perez pressed forward with combos as Nicolau began to cut corners and land some shots of his own.

Perez cut an angle perfectly as Nicolau tried to get out of harm's way. Perez cut him off, landing a right hook that put Nicolau out cold at 2:26 in round 2. Following the win the emotion from Perez sent him to his knees and then into the arms of long time coach Colin Oyama. Perez had lost three in a row prior to this spectacular knockout, so to see the hard work pay off in this fashion was a very moving moment for Perez and his team.

Photo by Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

"First Noah, I love you. I'll see you at home right now, see you soon. It feels amazing you know everybody counted me out. Coming off of three losses, I fought Deiveson, fought Pantoja, and I lost to Mokaev. Shit happened in my last camp but three weeks, no problem. Anytime, any day." Said Alex Perez following the win. "I tell people all the time I don't get paid to sit on the couch. I get paid to fight, so I'm always at the gym. I'm always at the gym all the time helping other teammates, helping people out coaching. Doing what I have to do. I'm going to always work, and everyone gives me a hard time because all I do is train and this is the reason why."

Perez gets back in the win column in impressive fashion and is also awarded the Performance of the Night Bonus. Perez stands at (25-8) in his MMA career and joined the UFC Fight Night Post Show on ESPN following the fight, to talk more about the fight and his future in the UFC. Video below.

Keep up with Alex Perez online at www.alexperezmma.com also give him a follow on social media on IG @ www.instagram.com/alexperezmma and on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/alexperezmma

Check back with www.valleyfightnews.com for all your latest news and coverage

Also add Valley Fight News.com on social media on IG at www.instagram.com/_valleyfightnews.com_ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/valleyfightnews

By: Daniel "Trip" Quintana www.noweakshitever.com

Brought to you by: