Alex Perez is hoping to kill two birds with one stone in the near future – win the UFC flyweight title and avenge his loss to Alexandre Pantoja.
The UFC flyweight contender is hoping Pantoja defends his 125-pound title against Steve Erceg on Saturday in the main event UFC 301 in Brazil. Perez (25-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) is confident Pantoja can get the job done, from an objective, analytical point, but he’s also hoping that’s the case for personal reasons.
“I give it like a 70/30, 60/40 chance,” Perez told MMA Junkie. “Pantoja has the experience. Pantoja’s wrestling isn’t the best, but he’s just a dog that keeps shooting. On the feet, Pantoja is tough. He can take a punch. Steve, I haven’t seen a lot of him outside the UFC, but he’s a stud, too. One thing that’s scary in the division is that he’s shown that he has one-punch knockout (power), whether he just hit the right button on (Matt) Schnell or what. But on paper, Pantoja gets hit, and Steve is going to hit him, so still give him a chance.
