‘I’m a kid from a small town’: What a UFC title bout means to California’s Alex Perez
Alex Perez usually goes to bed by 10 or 11 p.m.
But a late-night call from his manager seemed unusual, so he had to answer his cellphone because he felt it was important.
“Hey man, Cody (Garbrandt) is out,” Perez said he heard from Jason House. “I was like what? He tells me, ‘You’re fighting for a title’ and it hit me for a little bit.”
The Lemoore native was so pumped, he wanted to go out for a jog.
Perez (24-5 MMA, 6-1 UFC) will face Deiveson Figueiredo (19-1, 8-1) on Saturday for the flyweight title in the main event of UFC 255 in Las Vegas. The fights will air on ESPN+ pay-per-view starting at 7 p.m.
“It’s amazing,” Perez told reporters this week. “I’m a kid from a small town. To be on an UFC poster, I got my family here in Vegas, sending me pictures of the bulletin board and seeing my face on posters. People from small towns usually don’t get that stuff. Just to be that guy and do it in my town, I’m the first guy from my town to make it to the UFC; I’m the first guy from my town fighting for an UFC title.
“It brings a lot of pride and joy especially being a part of the main event fighting for a title in Vegas, the capital of fighting. It’s amazing and a blessing.”
Perez earned a UFC contract after defeating Kevin Gray in 2017 on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series at The Ultimate Fighter Gym in Las Vegas.
He made his UFC debut at the Save Mart Center in December 2017 and submitted Carls John de Tomas in the second round.
After a loss to Joseph Benavidez in November 2018, Perez won three consecutive fights — the last two by technical submission (arm-triangle choke) and a TKO (leg kick) to earn the title fight.
Odds don’t favor Perez
According to oddsmakers, Perez goes into the fight as a +250 underdog, according to William Hill Sportsbook.
Figueiredo told MMA Fighting he sees no danger in his opponent. That’s fine by Perez.
“My fights speak for themselves,” he said. “If he thinks I’m slow, then I guess I’m slow. There’s really not much to say. If he underestimated me, then cool. I figure a lot of my opponents do just because I’m not a big known name kind of guy. I mean, I didn’t get signed from straight to the UFC. They weren’t looking like, ‘Hey we need to sign Alex Perez.’ I worked my way in here.
“People don’t know that I got a short notice fight on the contender series. It wasn’t like they wanted me there. ... We’ll see what happens on Saturday.”
First Jose Ramirez. Is Perez next?
Perez is friends with WBC/WBO super lightweight world champion Jose Ramirez.
The Avenal native picked up the WBC title with a unanimous decision win over Amir Imam in New York City.
Ramirez added the WBO title after a technical knockout over Maurice Hooker last year in Arlington, Texas.
Perez rooted for Ramirez from far away. Now he hopes he can add a UFC title for himself and Lemoore.
“It means everything, all the hard work I put over the last 10 years,” he said. “It shows that, coming from a small town, that we can achieve goals.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
