LAS VEGAS – Ailin Perez beat Ashlee Evans-Smith with a unanimous decision Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 49 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Perez, who was dominant from start to finish with takedowns and nearly 10 minutes of top control for her first UFC win.
Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Ailin Perez
Result: Ailin Perez def. Ashlee Evans-Smith via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)
Updated records: Perez (8-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), Evans-Smith (6-6 MMA, 3-6 UFC)
Key stats: Perez landed 10 takedowns to set the UFC women’s bantamweight record. Recently retired former dual champion Amanda Nunes held the previous record with eight.
Perez on the fight's key moment
“Ashlee showed she has a giant heart, and I had seen it in her fights. People underestimated her a lot, or told me, ‘You’re going to kill her.’ But her desire to want to beat me is also going to get her out of position, which is what she showed today.”
Perez on Evans-Smith and twerking
“I’m always thankful for my opponents for stepping up and being across from me. … I’m used to having fights fall off, so I was very respectful. She’s a tough girl, and people underestimated her. People actually said, ‘You’re going to kill this girl. She’s off rhythm. She hasn’t fought in a long time.’ Just the fact that she actually stepped up in her will to train and to actually step into this fight, that’s something in and of itself.
“I also showed a lot of people in this role today that I’m not just a twerking girl. I’m a mother, I’m an athlete, and on top of everything, I’m from Argentina.”
Perez on fighting for her son
“It’s been more than three months since I’ve been away from my son. It was a huge responsibility to take the victory to him, who is the first person who deserves all this, and is one of the victims in this, in all this challenge, because he is without his mother. All this work is for him.”
Perez on what she wants next
“I want a rematch with (Tamires Vidal) because she was the one who (gave me my first loss) in Brazil. (I lost) because of a mistake of mine. I was winning the three rounds, the fight. I want the opportunity to have the rematch. It was a mistake on my part. I was not just winning this fight in the third round – I was dominating this fight. And again, a mistake of mine, and I got DQ’d. It was an illegal knee as she was getting up. I think it would be a very interesting fight. She’s coming off a win. I’m coming off a win, and this (rematch) I’m going to win.”
Dominated from beginning to end 👀@AiluPerezUFC with the win at #UFCVegas77! pic.twitter.com/LYHYLd88pl
— UFC (@ufc) July 15, 2023
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 on ESPN 49.
