Alex Perez reminded the flyweight division he’s still a threat on Saturday night, delivering a statement performance with a victory over Charles Johnson at UFC 324.
Perez (26-10) snapped a two-fight skid with his win over Johnson, a familiar foe. The two go back years, having trained together, and even lived in the same fighter house set up by their coaches.
“I lived with Charles, I know Charles, he knows my son. I know his daughter. When we first signed this fight we actually FaceTime’d each other and took a screenshot together. I don’t like hurting a friend, but at the same time too, this is business,” Perez told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.
“He would have done the same thing to me. We talked right now and it’s all respect. We have a job to do, my back was against the wall, he knows that. Kind of sucked having to hit him.”
Perez admitted the quick turnaround caught up with him, especially after returning from Doha and jumping right into another camp. He also addressed his weight miss, acknowledging that at this stage of his career, those short turnarounds have become much harder to manage.
Perez added that he believes Saturday’s bout may have been the final fight on his current UFC contract.
“The weight issue I think it was just too back-to-back. I fought in Doha, I come back through the holidays and do this again. I tend to think I’m still young which I’m not. I’ll be 34 in March so I can’t make those quick turnarounds like I used to,” he said.
“Hopefully I showed the UFC I still belong. I have to sit down and talk to my management and talk to Mick Maynard. Hopefully they can forgive me for this, and hopefully I can get a couple more fights in.”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Alex Perez above.