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Tomorrow night the UFC returns to The APEX after an insanely wild week with a flyweight showcase headlining the show. Former title challenger Alex Perez (25-8) is back again taking on the unbeaten top prospect Tatsuro Taira (15-0).
Starting with Alex Perez, this is his third fight in just about three months which is crazy. For context, Alex Perez fought Deiveson Figueiredo for the flyweight title at UFC 255 in November 2020. He didn’t fight again until July 2022 when he fought Alexandre Pantoja. In both of those fights, he was finished in the first round.
After the Pantoja fight, we didn’t see Perez in the UFC again until this past March. From the Figueiredo fight to the fight in March against Muhammad Mokaev, Perez had a total of nine fight cancellations. It was a brutal stretch but now that he’s fighting again, he wants to be very active.
He lost a close decision to Mokaev in March, but he quickly turned around to fight Matheus Nicolau at the end of April. In that fight, he scored a huge second round knockout. Perez has looked great in both of these fights and it’s great to see him active and looking good.
That said, he’ll have a big test tomorrow night agains the unbeaten Taira. Tatsuro Taira has made his way into the rankings but he has the opportunity to make a massive leap tomorrow night. He’s currently ranked 13th while Perez is ranked 5th. With a win, he can jump right into the UFC’s title picture at 125.
Taira made his octagon debut back in 2022 having had a 10-0 record on the regional scene. Obviously by looking at his record, you can see that he’s a perfect 5-0 inside the octagon. Three finishes along the way and the 24-year-old is out to prove that he’s ready to make that leap into title contention.
UFC Vegas 93 Prediction
Tatsuro Taira excels when he gets to grapple with his opponents. That said, I’m not sure I like his chances in getting this fight to the ground tomorrow night. Perez has great takedown defense and he’s an incredible scrambler. If Muhammad Mokaev couldn’t keep him down, I’m not sure Taira will have success with his takedowns.
Taira is solid on the feet, but Perez should have the advantage there as well. We’ve seen how slick Taira’s submissions are thus far in his UFC run and we’ve also seen Perez get submitted. I can easily see the unbeaten prospect getting a submission, but it’s going to have to be in a scramble where he sneaks one in.
Overall, I actually like Alex Perez in this matchup. I think he has newfound confidence and that’ll carry through tomorrow night’s fight. I think it goes the distance and Perez gets the decision win at UFC Vegas 92.
Prediction: Alex Perez by Decision