So, here’s the scoop. We’ve got a flyweight showdown on the cards. Muhammad Mokaev is set to duke it out with Alex Perez. And guess where? It’s all going down in Saudia Arabia, marking the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first-ever event there.
News of this match-up started making the rounds on Wednesday. Perez’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, was the first to spill the beans. Now it’s all over the place.
The fight is part of the UFC Fight Night event, scheduled for March 2 at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh. Who’s headlining the event? That’s still under wraps.
Now, let’s talk about Mokaev. The guy’s a rising star in the UFC’s flyweight division. Only 23 and he’s already got five wins under his belt. His last fight? He made Tim Elliott tap out with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their match at UFC 294. Fun fact: four of Mokaev’s five UFC victories have come via submission.
On the flip side, Perez hasn’t stepped into the octagon since his first-round submission defeat against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 277 in July 2022. Before that, he lost a title fight to Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 255 in November 2020. The guy’s had a rough patch, with multiple fight cancellations over the past three years. Here’s hoping he can turn things around.