NEWARK, N.J. – Ailin Perez beat Joselyne Edwards with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 302 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Take a look inside the fight with Perez, who won for the third straight time, then dropped her signature twerk into her post-fight celebration.
Ailin Prez, post-fight
Ailin Perez def. Joselyne Edwards
Result: Ailin Perez def. Joselyne Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Updated records: Perez (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC), Edwards (13-6 MMA, 4-4 UFC)
Key stats: Edwards essentially doubled up on Perez in total strikes, 130-68, but Perez landed six takedowns on her way to her third straight unanimous decision.
Perez on the fight's key moment
“This is the work that we put in for three months. I worked out at Goat Shed, and if we had not worked the way we did, this wouldn’t have been accomplished. I knew this was going to be a tough fight and we manifested this. I talked to my team and I said, ‘We are going to win by decision because she’s tough.’ She really lasted. But I know that I was always going to be looking for a knockout. She is very experienced. She’s tough. I was always going to be looking for a knockout, but knew that was going to be winning by decision.”
This spinning backfist from @AiluPerezUFC 😮💨 #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/9aSuR68iT0
— UFC (@ufc) June 1, 2024
Perez on her dramatic history with Edwards
“After the incident happened at the (UFC Performance Institute), I was very clear and I was sure that I was at peace and I was not the aggressor. I had faith and peace that I was not the one that started that. She knows that she started this. When the fight ended, before the results, I went up to her and I said, ‘Listen, I don’t know if I won. I don’t know if you won. But whatever happens here, it’s in our past. It’s done. It’s done. It manifested the other way, but it doesn’t matter. Let’s leave it in the past.’ The revenge happened. I was able to avenge it, and that’s what happened. My goal is not to beat Jocelyn. My goal is to have the result that I have by beating her.”
Nothing but respect after sharing the Octagon for 15 minutes 👏 #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/NXO5NkWGJE
— UFC (@ufc) June 1, 2024
Perez on what she wants next
“I’m not a wrestler. I’m not a judo girl. I’m not somebody that’s a specific wrestler. What I’m doing, I’m training everything that I can so I can get better, uh, and I got a lot of heart. … I’m not ranked, but I think today I showed that I’m ready. That’s why I want a stellar fight, because I have the cardio to fight the five rounds, and I have the ovaries, too. Come on, Dana White – give me the stellar fight! What are you waiting for? Come on, man!”
To hear more from Perez, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.
