Well, here’s the scoop. There’s a flyweight clash on the horizon. It’s between Muhammad Mokaev and Alex Perez. And you know what’s even more exciting? It’s set for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first-ever visit to Saudi Arabia.
News of this match-up was confirmed by multiple outlets on Wednesday. The initial announcement came straight from Perez’s management, Iridium Sports Agency. Now, here’s the kicker. The UFC Fight Night event is expected to take place at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 2. But guess what? No headliner for the card has been announced yet.
Let’s talk about Mokaev. This 23-year-old is a rising star in the UFC’s flyweight division. He’s notched victories in his first five promotional appearances. Impressive, right? In his last outing, he was “The Punisher”. He submitted former title challenger Tim Elliott with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their match at UFC 294. And get this, Mokaev has won four of his five UFC fights by way of submission.
Now, onto Perez. He’s been out of the game for a bit. His last competition was a first-round submission defeat against the current 125-pound champ, Alexandre Pantoja. That was at UFC 277 in July 2022. Before that, he lost a title fight to Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 255 in November 2020. The Team Oyama product has had his share of ups and downs. He’s dealt with numerous bout cancellations over the past three years, for a multitude of reasons.