Alex Perez stepped up on short notice and made relatively short work of Matheus Nicolau in the main event of UFC Vegas 91 on Saturday night.
Perez set the tone with unpredictable pressure in the first round and made his statement in the second frame.
Following a right hand that wobbled Nicolau moments earlier, Perez put his opponent out with a right cross on the chin, prompting the referee to step in immediately.
Here is a look at the finish
Originally, Manel Kape was supposed to be the one facing Nicolau, but he was forced to pull out with an injury. Perez made the most of his opportunity by securing the win and grabbing one of the $50,000 Fight Night bonuses.
The victory for Perez helped him bounce back from a unanimous decision loss to Mohammed Mokaev in March. It was Perez’s first win since he stopped Jussier Formiga with leg kicks in June 2020.
Here is a look at all of the bonus winners. There was no Fight of the Night, just four monetary acknowledgments for top performers. Each man won an additional $50,000.
- Alex Perez – KO win over Matheus Nicolau
- Uros Medic – KO win over Tim Means
- Jhonata Diniz KO win over Austen Lane
- Bogdan Guskov – TKO win over Ryan Spann
Medic destroyed veteran Tim Means with a well-placed and timed uppercut that shut the Dirty Bird’s lights out during the earlier portions of the main card.
Medic called out Ian Machado Garry after the fight during his presser. That’s an unlikely fight anytime soon, considering the No-7-ranked Garry is hot on Colby Covington’s trails, and Medic isn’t ranked.
Diniz battered ex-NFL player Austen Lane with a relentless combination that led to the finish. This one was fun while it lasted as neither heavyweight was afraid to trade in the pocket.
In the co-main event, Guskov rebounded from a tough first round against Spann to score the TKO win.
Spann, who came into the fight ranked No. 11 at light heavyweight, seemingly had Guskov close to being finished as he flattened him out and almost secured the ground-and-pound TKO.
However, Guskov survived the round, and in the second, he hurt Spann with an uppercut (clearly the punch of the night) and finished him with ground and pound.
Referee Herb Dean may have allowed Spann to take too many defenseless punches before halting the fight. Here is a look at the finish:
In any case, Guskov should be ranked next week when the newest rankings are released. Next up for the UFC, the promotion heads to Brazil for UFC 301.
Jose Aldo faces Jonathan Martinez in what could be the future Hall-of-Famer’s final fight in the UFC. In the main event, Alexandre Pantoja will defend his UFC Flyweight title against Steve Erceg.
Be on the lookout for fight week coverage.
